lately executed in France vpon a popish and base fellow which imbrued his hands in the blood of his Soueraigne So wilfull and common murtherers to be hanged vp in chaines to the view of all for the vnnaturall killing of their neighbour or companion And so it is meete that other malefactors should be dealt withall according to their wicked waies and according to the commandement of God that euil may be taken away from the land as it was said of Ioab Our lawes haue well prouided for many such and if it pleased our Gouernours to thinke well of it that Atheists Blasphemers and Adulterers might haue their share among the rest according to their deserts the case would bee much better with vs by many degrees at this day And this be said by occasion of the first question From the second and the answer of Adonibezek glorying in his crueltie and subduing so many Kings vnder him for his pleasure as the Philistines when they listed called in Sampson out of the prison his eies being put out to make them passe time it giues occasion to vs to consider the excessiue pride lust and other badnesse of people this present age not being behind any of the former therein that when God hath brought them out of their swadling cloutes after they came naked into the world wherein they were like to haue miscarried a thousand times before they were able to runne about being so shiftlesse and vnable to helpe themselues that I say no more in this place of their misery besides yet they are no sooner out of the shell as we vse to say nor come to man estate but they shew themselues to the world as plaiers on the stage no lesse disguised in their stomacks behauiour and qualities then many of them be in their apparell And especially if they be great and borne to any thing it is admirable to see what profanenesse licentiousnesse riot gaming and such like intemperance is euery where to be seene in them who for their owne pleasure care not how they dominere ouer their inferiours who are vnder them and ripen them a pace who are about them in all kinde of euill For what else for the most part is to bee learned in such seruice and how they seeke to match their equals in any Italienate fashions and disguised carriage of themselues and to desire to rise vp to the higher places of their betters chiefly to this end that they may haue more libertie to doe euill that as this tyrant tooke pleasure in his kind in the sins which he liked which yet was no admirable thing in him who was an Heathen Idolater euen so doe men in this age who liuing vnder the Gospel should blush to heare it not seeke what pleaseth God who hath set them vp but their owne pleasure And it is so vsuall and common among many of the greater sort that it is taken vp among the meaner also in so much that many of them degenerate from their profession thereby and become little better then brutish but a greater number of them to bee sure doe little honour it in their liues which I say rather to comfort and incourage them who haue no fellowship with them in their vnfruitefull works of darkenesse then in hope to doe good to many of the other offenders THE FOVRTH SERMON VPON THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES VERS 8. Now the children of Iudah had fought against Ierusalem and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sword and had set the citie on fire VERS 9. Afterward also the children of Iudah went downe to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the mountaine and toward the South and in the low countrie VERS 10. And Iudah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron which Hebron before time was called Kiriath-Arbah and they slew Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai VERS 11. And from thence hee went to the inhabitants of Debir and the name of Debir in old time was Kiriath-Sepher THese verses and the other that follow to the 17. verse are repeated out of the book of Ioshua chiefly out of the 15. chapter and are brought hither to this end that we may vnderstand that the Tribe of Iudah possessed Ierusalem while Ioshua was yet aliue and therefore they might the easilier and better bring Adonibezek thither prisoner And the things that are here repeated out of Ioshua are partly these in the foure verses which I haue now read namely the taking of Ierusalem Hebron and Debir and their fighting against the Canaanits that dwelt in the mountaines and partly those things following afterward to the 16. verse as shall be shewed when I come vnto them And that they are here repeated is manifest hereby for that it is declared in that Chapter of Ioshua that the King of Ierusalem was then taken and was brought into the hands of the people of God and that the children of Iudah dwelt there with the Iebusites In the 17. verse the holy storie returneth to set downe what Iudah and Simeon did further at this time as he began to declare before from verse 4. to the 8. That which concerneth Hebron and Debir shall be set downe in their place Now this repetition out of the booke of Ioshua here brought in vnto the 17. verse for the 16. is a short interlaced story of the Kenites this repetition I say is here brought in lest the Reader should be troubled as though the same things which are mentioned here had been now done after the death of Ioshua which are set downe there to haue been in his lifetime And this is done that there might be no stumbling nor offence thereat we may therfore note out of all these verses in generall the great care that the holy Ghost had in setting downe the Scriptures freeing them from errour and making one to agree with the other so that if men were able to discerne they might euer see it to be so It is true indeed that many things in them are hard to be vnderstood which the wicked peruert as S. Peter saith to their owne destruction but where care is ioyned with gifts of knowledge which gifts some attaine to there may bee seene a most sweet agreement betwixt them and no one either to iarre with another or any one to be friuelous or absurd as some are bold to affirme but seuen times tried in the fire and pure and holy as the Psalmist saith and therefore to all good vses of knowledge and confuting of error or practise in life and comfort profitable For though all Scripture is not alike but some plaine and some obscure yet first they are plainest which are more necessarie for faith and life and they that haue obscuritie in them serue to exercise and sharpen our vnderstanding rather and to prouoke an appetie in vs to diligence and care for attaining the true meaning of them then to driue vs from in reading them To
thereof fit for the people and that out of the bad as well as the good euen as well as out of other Scripture which all haue not learned to doe neither haue attained vnto and therefore doe oft times offer violence to the Scriptures by making allegories of them and so wresting them to another sense then the holy Ghost hath made of them without which manner of handling them they can draw none or little matter out of the most examples in the stories of them and so beside that their doctrine is not soundly gathered so they giue too fearefull suspition to the ignorant that such parts of the Scripture are barraine and drie while they doe by such shifts and yet indirect so hardly draw matter and doctrine out of them when yet it is certaine and cleere that they are full of sound instruction But to come to my purpose I will now set downe some generall things before I enter into the text which may giue some light to the better vnderstanding of the whole book such as I gather partly by obseruing laying together that which I read in it comparing one thing with another and partly out of that learned and reuerend Father Master Peter Martyr whose workes neither the most priuate men can vnderstand nor many Ministers though they may vnderstand them can come by neither if they can shall they finde there that which shall be much for their simpler hearers benefit And first let the reader marke how this booke agreeth with all the former from Genesis to the end of Ioshua and what is the summe of them and this Concerning the booke of Genesis after mention is made in the beginning of it of the creation of the world and the generations to the flood it doth afterward shew how God chose his people out of Abraham and his posteritie and how they were sent into Egypt to auoid the famine In Exodus these things are the principall how the people of God multiplied and increased in the land of Egypt till there rose a King who cruelly oppressed and vexed them sore and how they were deliuered out of the bondage which they were in there by Moses and how they had lawes giuen them to gouerne them And this last point is the summe of Leuiticus also The booke of Numbers declareth their diuers resting places in the desert and their goings forward toward the land of Canaan In Deuteronomy Moses being to depart out of this world and to leaue the people doth most faithfully repeate the law to the generation which came after the former and which then liued I meane to the posteritie of Abraham Then came Ioshua and led the people into the promised land and diuided the land of the Amorites and Canaanites which partly was subdued and gotten out of their hands and partly remained to be conquered he I say diuided it amongst the twelue tribes according to the commandement of God after he had brought them ouer Iordan slaine many of the Kings of Canaan and possessed their cities and grounds in that countrey This is the summe and contents of the booke of Ioshua After his death to come to our purpose the Lord gouerned his people the Hebrewes being placed in that land by Iudges whom to that end he indued with excellent gifts and by them deliuered and kept the people out of the hands of their enemies who as yet did all the daies of the Iudges remaine in great numbers to vex them But to vnderstand better the meaning of the word Iudges a materiall point in this booke to be vnderstood though to iudge signifie to know the cases of such as contend and be at variance and to giue sentence of iudgement betwixt men yet these Iudges mentioned in this booke had not that office neither were called Iudges in that respect But as the word signifieth also to reuenge and to redeeme out of bondage thus did those Iudges deliuer and redeeme the people as in this booke is at large declared I speakâ— not of Samuel who is said after to iudge them also by deciding controuersies and ciuill causes But these Iudges had that office assigned them of God to deliuer the people as I haue said out of their enemies hands and so to iudge them and therefore were called by that name of Iudges and this booke that intreateth of them and their acts throughout is called The booke of Iudges And briefly to lay out the state and condition that these people the Hebrewes then liued in whereby the office of the Iudges may the better be vnderstood they hauing not yet conquered the land were occupied as at their first entrance into it and after Ioshuas death a while in subduing it and their enemies but afterward they suffered them to remaine and become tributaries to them and were thereby as God saw it meete and as need required in great perill and miserie by them and then because they were his people lest they should haue been vtterly destroyed these Iudges were raised vp by him without the election of men to rescue and deliuer them But afterward when they were at rest and peace God gouerned them not by those Iudges therefore Iphtah when he was desired would not raigne ouer them neither had they authoritie ouer them but he vsed the help of someother excellent persons fit by their vertues and gifts for that purpose and they ruled the people but the Iudges as I said were stirred vp by the Lord in great dangers brought vpon them by their enemies to be helpers and deliuerers vnto them and to keepe them in peace afterward while they lined So that these Iudges were not chosen by succession as Kings neither by the voyces of the people but were raised vp by God as wee haue heard indifferently as well out of one tribe as another and how meane and vnfit soeuer they were before for that purpose God did furnish them by and by after he had stirred them vp with most excellent gifts for that end to the which he appointed them And it went farre better with the people while they were vnder them then it did afterward when they would needs haue a King to raigne ouer them For they did alwaies deliuer the people of Israel out of the calamitie with which they were oppressed whereas their Kings did sometimes waste them and bring them into captiuitie and were the most part of them Idolaters And although vnder the Iudges the people were somtimes oppressed grieuously by strangers and especially vnder Samson by the Philistims for why we must know their horrible sinnes deserued it and prouoked God to deale with them in that manner yet they were neuer led into captiuitie while they liued with them Againe there were few of the Kings good men in Israel not one the Iudges for the most part were all such A good testimonie whereof we haue in the Epistle to the Hebrewes where we thus reade of the commendation of them The time would be too short
for me to speake of Gedeon Barak Iphtah and Samson these the holy Ghost commendeth And though some of them as men did sometime fall yet we are to thinke they returned and rose vp againe seeing the Scripture as I remember doth neuer condemne them So that in respect of them and by their helpe if the people could haue seene it and made benefit of it we may say they liued in a golden age Now whereas it is not so apparantly to be seene that this booke doth set foorth Christ vnto vs in all the commendations of these Iudges who yet is the end of all bookes of Scripture to such as demaund about it I answere that Christ is not cleerely set foorth in any of those bookes of the old Testament first written but darkly and by types and figures as God saw it meete for those ages and so wee are to thinke of this booke where the deliuerances from so great enemies as are mentioned herein are types of that great deliuerance and redemption of men wrought by Christ out of the iawes of the diuell And let the commending of sundrie of those Iudges by the holy Ghost satisfie vs that they could not haue been good men nor haue liued by faith as they were said to haue done if they had not beleeued in Christ and been sanctified thereby Besides what authoritie shall we giue to the old Testament if they who are commended in it to haue been men of God as diuers Kings and Prophets with many other did not liue and walke by faith seeing it is not expressely set downe without which they could not please God Now the summe of this booke is thus much first a declaration generally of the estate of the religion and manner of worshipping God which these Israelites vsed in their Common wealth from the death of Ioshua to Eli the Priest for the storie of Ruth containes things done in the daies of the Iudges Ruth 1. 1. and more particularly this booke layeth out their sinnes and Gods calling them out of them by sundrie warnings and iudgements vnto repentance with many fearefull examples of their reuolting and turning backe againe whereby may bee seene how corrupt they were both in religion and manners and this booke is a liuely glasse if we well consider it of this our age The parts of the booke are three The first setteth downe the slouthfulnesse of the Tribes in executing the commandements of God against their enemies and the punishment threatned for it Chap. 1. and 2. and their slouthfulnesse is illustrated by the contrarie course of Iudah and Simeon who were forward to goe against them as in Chapter 1. to verse 21. is to be seene The second part is from the 2. chapter to the 17. which treateth of the Iudges and their great actes according to occasions offered who in their due time were raised vp The third part is from chapter 17. to the end and setteth foorth some odious and monstrous acts committed in those confused times when there was no ordinarie Gouernour and therewithall the punishments which followed The author of this booke is vnknowne but yet the booke is canonicall and authorized also by the new Testament The time of the actes of it from the death of Ioshua to Eli the high Priest is gathered to be about 300 yeeres The end of this booke as shall better appeare in the particular handling of it is to instruct and perswade vs in this latter age of the world to carry our selues vprightly and in a streight and well ordred course both in prosperitie and aduersitie I meane to hold the feare of God in both and to keep hope and patience in and through out this our pilgrimage with prayer and repentance which if we do God will be no lesse with vs then he was with the good people mentioned herein The order which I purpose to obserue in the Lectures vpon this booke is first to giue the short summe of the Chapters then to deuide euery Chapter into parts for the better distinguishing the points thereof that they may be better vnderstood and more clearely seene into thirdly I giue the sense of the verses more fully and lay forth the doctrine with the reasons and vse thereof though for the most part they be not alwaies expressely set downe which manner of handling the diuerse histories of this booke as also I thinke the same of our preaching out of all other Scriptures namely that after the meaning and sense apt and fit instruction should bee drawne out with the application to the present state need and vse of the hearers plainely and pitbily as may be for their best edifying I hold meetest to be vsed And I weuld to God that there were consent giuen therto of al Preachers and that this course were aimed at I wish that euery one did not follow his owne priuate course who hath neuer learned any good way or order of preaching Whereby it commeth to passe that some fill their Sermons with the froth of their owne braines or the bare authorities of men and least proofe is brought out of the Scriptures Also some preach darkely to the little benefiting of the hearers not to mention all which were endlesse And although for many other things I leaue the consideration therof to my reuerend and learned brethren yet in this I hope without ostentation and arrogating ought to myselfe I may be allowed to speake in regard of the long time which I haue spent in studying learning and practising as I haue been able the holie exercise of preaching And now to end these my Lectures this I say that beside the varietie of much good therein contained there are some points to good purpose occasioned touching faith and repentance and sundrie directions giuen how to seeke the Lord when we haue slipped and how to beare trouble aright Thus much I thought good to say before I enter into the seuerall Sermons euen to this end that some good light may be giuen as to him that marketh duly it may appeare Now I will proceed to the text itselfe THE FIRST SERMON VPON THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES VERS 1. And it came to passe after that Ioshua was dead that the children of Israel asked the Lord saying who shall goe vp for vs against the Canaanites to fight first against them VERS 2. And the Lord said Iudah shall goe vp behold I haue giuen the land into his hands IN this Chapter two things are chiefly contained to set downe the summe of the Chapter and parts of it together The first is the commendation of the tribe of Iudah to the 21. verse the cause we shall heare afterward The second is the setting downe of the sinne of the tribes that are mentioned after in that they slothfully suffered the Canaanites to liue by them and did not expell them and that is to the end of the Chapter Iudah is commended in a double manner first for the actes they did now at
that he will deale liberally with them Men promise much and performe little yea many are so vniust that they set other about their worke but they are neuer willing to pay them their hire and to come to a reckoning because they are well content to defraud them of their due and to take their labour in a manner for nothing But God is a liberall pay-master he promiseth afore hand more then we can looke for euen to make vs able and fit for the worke that so it may not bee toilesome nor tedious vnto vs beside the reward that he giueth afterwards euen as he did to Iosuah before when he should leade the people at the first into the land of Canaan hee not onely promised him the whole land but added therewith I will be with thee I will not leaue nor forsake thee And this being duly considered and belieued were the strongest motiue to set vs forward cheerefully not onely in those duties and workes of out callings which doe cause some delight and are ioyned with some profit but also in other which require much toile and haue nothing to incourage vs but this that God commands vs and would haue vs goe to worke otherwise and namely both the Magistrate and Minister to do those great works required of them with that cheerfulnes and readines that I haue mentioned yea the husbandman and the artificer after the same manner to set vpon their workes inioyned them and so likewise euen seruants doore keepers and hewers of wood and drawers of water which are the basest seruices and meanest of other callings as also the keepers of sheepe and swine to be so occupied in their callings that as long as they know they are in the condition in which they should liue and serue God and that he will bee with them and blesse them therein they may abide in the same with comfort resting vpon his prouidence and trusting in his promise that they shall reape the fruit of it assuredly And the same I would say of women in their places and condition and the worke that they are occupied about in bruing baking sowing spinning and such like huswifery but that I should stay to long The which behauiour so heauenly in their earthly businesse would better become them a man would thinke and should be desired and sought for of them if they were wise that so they might liue cheerefully and peaceably it would better become them I say then the life which now they leade which for the most part is led distrustfully vnquietly in fretting raging and earthly mindednes c. And all because they trust not in God for successe neither belieue that he will be with them to direct and helpe them as also to giue a good end to their labours though they do not alwayes attaine the outward profit which they seeke God prouiding better for them euen in that hardnes as they count it that their contentation and patience shall be a greater blessing to them then if they had inioyed all the commodity that might haue bin looked for of them Oh wofull people who like not their labours and worke which God allotteth and appointeth to them but take in hand what they thinke good and therein promise to themselues as the worldly men did who are mentioned in Saint Iames namely what gaine they shall haue without the promise of God and therefore if they be disappointed they could finde in their hearts to contend with God for not yeelding their hope and desire vnto them for though they will not bee directed by him what and how they should do yet they will quarrell and dispute with him if they faile of that they looke for for what else are their secret murmurings and frettings but against him in their disappointments Thus we see how ill they prouide for themselues who take not the worke they goe about from God that so they might also prosper therein but they are wise and shall not repent it who as Iudah heere did desire God to teach them what his good pleasure is to haue them to do for therein they are sure that it shall goe well with them whatsoeuer they take in hand In which respect Dauid wished the meanest place in Gods house that is to say where he ruleth rather then the greatest and highest elsewhere Wel shewing by his example that the poore who in their simplicitie can make the like choice may liue farre more sweetly and peaceably then the mightiest which refuse to learne so to do and that Salomon ment when he said A dish of greene hearbs with peace is better then a staled oxe with strife But from this and such like places it is obiected that God dealt farre better with that people then he doth in these daies with vs. For they in a particular doubt or trouble might goe and aske counsell of God and he gaue them an answere againe thereto which if he did grant to vs in like manner then they say we had good cause in deede why we should serue God as readily and ioyfully as they did but we haue no such libertie to aske in that manner nor the like prerogatiue in his answering vs againe To the which I say that this liberty was granted them in one respect which diminisheth nothing of Gods fauour to vs and this it is That people of Israel had a promise of God that their common wealth should in some sort abide vnto Christs comming For the which cause when they were in great ieopardy to be rooted out by enemies God gaue them leaue thus to aske of him what they should do and he resolued and satisfied them according to the promise which he had made them to wit that they should not be driuen out of the land whereby they knew that those troubles should not be as they feared their vtter ouerthrow And as for their captiuity afterwards it was but for a season and they were at the appointed time restored againe and returned into their owne land Now what great prerogatiue had they by such answeres from God about that particular more then an earthly benefit They had this temporary blessing which they needed we as we haue it not so we stand in no need of it But we haue farre greater then they had as the meanes of our saluation farre more cleerely brought to light and this is the greatest of all benefits And seeing wee haue many bookes of holy Scripture which they had not especially when these things were done which now are spoken of as the Prophets and the new Testament wee may well allow them somewhat which we want And for praying to God either about and for things heauenly or earthly we haue farre more easie accesse to God then they had this one thing excepted that they had this one liberty granted them as I haue said And it would aswell appeare by the fruit of our prayers if we were zealous and oft
the shame of Popery this that I haue said is to be marked for the professors thereof doe challenge them for their difficultie and hardnesse so as they are not to be suffered in the hands of the common people whom if they withheld not from the true vnfolding of them they might reape great profit by reading them Also to the iust reproofe of many both Atheists and other not much differing from them this is to be noted for they that is the Atheists scoffe at the Scriptures and bouldly iustle against Moses and Christ these who are the prophane as bouldly and yet blindly reason dispute and quarrell against some particular Scriptures which they vnderstand not as if they were competent iudges as that in the Psalme Moab is my washpot ouer Edome will I cast my shooe which yet is as they would see and acknowledge if they were not more bold and rash then wise and skilfull to very good purposes as setting downe Gods threatning of iudgements against his enemies as also that of Samsons tying foxes tailes together with firebrands to spoile the Philistimes corne with such like also they raile against the doctrine of predestination and the sinne against the holy Ghost But not counting them worth the answering I conclude seeing the Lord hath left the Scriptures so pure and free from all error the matters in them being so profitable and heauenly I conclude I say that if we desire to liue comfortably by the benefit of them let them bee our treasure while the world trample them vnderfoot yea and let our meditation and delight bee so much the more in them and that continually And this bee noted out of all these verses generally to the 17. in that they are a repetition out of Ioshua Now more particularly in that so worthy things were done by this Tribe before and that therefore they were chosen now rather then any of the other Tribes to guide the rest seeing that they were wisest and faithfullest in Gods matters as appeareth by the mentioning of these great actes done by them let it teach vs this that such as are wisest and faithfullest ought to bee vsed and placed in the chiefe roomes of the seruice of God aboue the rest So Paul was endued with excellent gifts and counted faithfull before God put him in his seruice and then he imployed him in the most waightie businesse So Ioshua sent faithfull spies to view the land of Canaan This thing had such force in the heathen Kings as in Pharaoh that hee preferred Ioseph aboue all the chiefe Nobles of the land though he was but a stranger saying where shall we find a man like this man fitted for this worke and in the Kings of Babylon that they committed the great and waighty matters of the Kingdome to Daniel and the three Children because they saw that the spirit of God was in them to doe well aboue others So Abraham trusted Eliezer his seruant in that waighty matter of the marriage of his sonne Isaac hauing none like him yea Ahab himselfe made Obadiah a worthy man Steward of his houshold though hee had inough of other beside The holy Ghost makes mention at large of those Worthies which Dauid for their good seruice in the warres against the enemies of the Lord exalted to the highest roomes next him So did Iehoiada Hence it is that the Wise man saith Wo to that land whose Princes are chilaren and being not fit for any gouernment rise vp earely to drink strong drink Yea Salomon being put to his choice desired an vnderstanding heart wisely to goe in and out before the people And such ought Masters of families Magistrates and Gouernours in Townes to be as well as Ministers And this order God hath set and taught vs in commending and commanding faithfulnes and diligence which are excellent vertues in seruāts who yet are the meanest persons therby teaching vs much more to prefer these gifts in them who are vsed and imploied in higher callings and places and so much the more if wisdome be ioyned with them And these qualities Iethro required in such magistrates as should be chosen and the like Paul required in such as are called to the ministry besides other like furniture which giueth vs great cause of mourning when wee see the contrary and of reioycing where these vertues are to bee seene and found in them who are put in trust And such should executors of willes and schoolemasters be into whose hands men are constrained to put their children and goods and comprimitters of cases betwixt neighbours should be like vnto them who are trusted with much oftentimes And this honour honest and faithfull men haue with many that in iudging of matters they will if their case be good desire to haue such to giue their sentence and iudgement for them in their doubtfull causes rather then others though they set not greatly by religion themselues And this ought to incourage vs all to labour for Gods graces seeing they make a man stand before the honorable though money fauour or other respects are the chiefe gifts which most obtaine great places by Now whereas a doubt may arise here where it is said that Iudah had taken Ierusalem how it appeares to haue been so seeing it is not expresly set downe in Ioshua chap. 10. To that I answere though it bee not plainely so said yet it may well be vnderstood by the things that are written there namely that the King of Ierusalem was taken and put to death and that Iudah dwelt in the citie and could not cast out the Iebusits that dwelt therein By which I say it appeareth that the citie was then taken although it was not as yet wholly possessed and so did they slay the inhabitants and set the city on fire Here by the occasion of the destroying of these cities Ierusalem Hebron Debir and others many let vs consider the desolation that God sendeth vpon goodly places and the inhabitants thereof when his hand is against them and when hee is purposed to blow vpon them and to set them as it were on the stage to the view of the world Yea doubtlesse when he pleaseth to take the iudgement into his hand all the beautie and glorie of the world must vanish at his presence and the gloriousest solemnities and monuments come to vtter decay And to put vs in mind hereof is this written and set downe to shew vs the changeable estate of the flourishingest prosperitie of flesh The which a man would thinke that should behold them in their beauty and time of their glory that the enioyers thereof did liue in a paradice and petty heauen euen here vpon earth whereas when God hath blowne vpon them they are more desolate then the winter and like to an house waste and ruinous When Nabuchadnezzar and the fooler in the Gospell prided themselues the one in his great Babell the other in his abundance
repentance And if the company and neere acquaintance with the godly be so precious then beware lest we forsake our fellowship as the manner of some is but make we much of such and let our delight be as Dauid said his was in the Saints that are on the earth and in such as excell in vertue And such as dwell among them and haue dealings with them as neighbours that are neere seated together must needs in some sort haue let them take heed that through commonnesse of liuing with them they waxe not wearie of this blessing as wee easily are brought to be and so we be easily alienated from them by testinesse and conceits as too many are euen by small occasions and for very trifles when we haue yet learned one to beare anothers burthen and religion teacheth vs to make especiall account of and in any wise to seeke peace with them and insue and follow after it though it flie from vs that by so doing all may say we be the very disciples of Christ indeed for that we so loue one another Thus let them doe good and take good mutually together euery way as they can But to whom are good people commonly daintiest euen to such as dwel a farre off from them God declaring thereby that they who dwell by them are blind in not discerning and seeing what such a benefit is worth and therefore that they prouoke God to giue them their habitation and to send them among such as they themselues be that is vnquiet and froward people yea and worse then so I meane prophane skorners that they may thereby the better know what godly friendship is worth who if they had been wise would haue kept themselues well while they were well that is in better company I haue seene in my time some that tooke a pritch against such as feared God and were truly religious and in their distempered heate and ouerhastie dislike and wearinesse of their fellowship though they were farre better then themselues thus are men caried of their sections rashly wilfully and in passion in this their heate I say they would needs resolue to remoue their dwelling and when they had made choice of it to their owne liking when no perswasions might stay them from it they were so handled by strangers that knew not God nor their duties and so vexed and crossed among them that they cried out one to another Wo is me that I am constrained to dwell in Meshec meaning that they were then so troubled with them that had no pitty nor regard of them that they with shame confesse then and cry out that godly neighbours are a treasure and wished with much losse to dwell by them againe This example of the Kenites should further teach vs that though it is both lawfull and meete to regard maintenance yet we ought to respect chiefly in remoouing our dwellings the true knowledge of God which now is to be attained of vs by a sound ministery and that is seldome without some whose companie is to bee desired and whose acquaintance may make our liues sweet and ioyfull As Ruth the Moabitesse did therefore follow her mother in law Naomi into the holy land out of her owne country and could not be plucked from her by all the prerogatiues thereof her kindred acquaintance and such like It was the commendation of strangers as we oft reade in the Scriptures that when they saw Gods blessing vpon the Iewes they turned to their religion and said with Ruth to Naomi thy God shall be our God whereas we see that the most sort are rather content to part with some good commoditie then they would dwell among Gods people thinking it a bondage to liue with such as will not run to the same excesse of riot with them Commonly when men change their dwellings they respect some sinister end thereof as profit or the fulfilling of their lusts and let religion goe where it will But to passe from these such a mind should they haue as Ruth and the like had that trauell into farre countries to see them that they might with the Queene of the South seeke the wisdome of God to guide them as well as to see the countries or reape commodities and pleasures there or else it is out of question that they shall bring home the vaine fashion with the rude and heathenish manners thereof to the tainting of other and their owne vtter vndoing as by too wofull experience we see at this day To returne from trauellers to the other and though I confesse that men in their remoouing their dwelling may yea and must regard their commoditie yet not that only but withall they should with Abraham set vp an alter that is retaine Gods true worship and see how it may be vpholden where they shall become VERS 17. But Iuda went with Simeon his brother and they shew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and vtterly destroyed it and called the name of the city Hormah 18. Also Iuda tooke Azzah with the coastes thereof and Ashkelon with the coastes thereof and Ekron with the coastes thereof 19. And the Lord was with Iudah and he possessed the mountaines for hee could not driue out the Inhabitants of the valleyes because they had chariots of iron NOw this 16. verse of the Kenites being spoken of we are come to an end of the long repetition of the actes of Iudah done in the time Ioshua mentioned frō the 8. verse to this 16. which was as we heard interlaced and here the holy Ghost returneth to Simeon and Iudah and proceedeth in these two verses to set downe other actes of theirs after Ioshuahs death as he began to doe in the beginning of this chapter vnto the 8. verse and sheweth how they destroyed another city of the Canaanites Zephath by name and that they tooke more cityes besides which were after as by their names here sett downe we know possessed of the Philistines Now it is to be noted that they wasted some of the cityes vtterly by fire as Hazor and Iericho and so they delt with this here mentioned Zephath whereas they inhabited others of them Why they delt so with this it is not sett downe but they did as they were commanded We are sure it was that God might shew his kindnesse to Israel when some of them were vtterly subuerted where greatest danger was to be feared and to testifie his seueritie and his iustice to such of his enemies and therefore it is not for any to crie out of it as crueltie which the righteous God saw meet to be done And by this we must learne that though wee bee forbidden to hate the persons of our enemies yet when wee bee set by the Lord to execute iudgement vpon them our eie must not spare them vnder the colour of charitie or compassion for their propernesse manhood or any other foolish respect Neither may we do the worke of the Lord
and vnsetled This I haue thought good to say of their outward signes of repentance And seeing they were set downe to testifie the same in the people therefore all may see that this repentance must be euer found in vs whether any of the signes bee present or no. And the points thereof are these that the heart bee deepely pricked for sinne that it bewaile the same as purposing neuer to turne to it or the like againe which is all that can bee for the present time and that there bee yet for all this aggrauating of the sinne a beleeuing according to the promise of God that it is all freely remitted by God through Christ which more or lesse quiteth the heart and if that beleeuing be there it wil purge it from dead workes also afterward and keepe it from sinning any more in such manner as it did in former times the heart and whole man being sanctified already through beleeuing And this is the substance of repentance which we are to practise by the example of this people as also of many other in the Scripture as in Ieremy Hosea and diuers other But heere may a doubt arise about the repentance of the people that it may seeme not to haue been such as it hath bin set downe to be For if they repented at this time why did they not bring forth fruits of amendment whereof this was one yea a chiefe one to wit that they should after this haue rooted out the idolatrous Canaanites they being now so sharpely reproued for that they had not done it before but rather made leagues with them when yet that making of peace with them was one of the chiefe sins that was laid to their charge and in all sound repentance the sins bewailed acknowledged and repented of must needs be amended wee know in the persons For answere hereto it is to bee thought that the Lord held backe strength and courage from them so that they could not fight against them prosperously as they had done in the daies of Ioshua And this he did to the end they might beare that as a mark of their sin and disobedience For God according to his accustomed maner did receiue them into his fauor when they repented but hee did not by and by restore againe to them the other particular gifts which for their iust deserts hee had taken from them as strength of body and courage of minde they hauing both been abused of them before neither necessary to saluation Which thing is most needfull for vs to marke for our great benefit For euen so he dealeth at this day as he did in former times and with that people So hee dealt with our first parents after their fall for though they repented and were receiued againe into fauour yet the euils and discommodities which they brought vpon themselues and mankind did not the Lord take away neither was that quiet and sweet abode of theirs in Paradise enioyed of them at any time after So Sampson lost the gift of his bodily strength for a time after hee had so greatly displeased God which I might say of many other to wit that they lost the vse of such graces as before they enioyed And so doubtlesse such as after a commendable profession of the Gospell when they had before been truly conuerted to God by faith and repentance did fall againe to their old sinnes or to drowsinesse and coldnes in his seruice such I say haue found and receiued the like measure at his hands as most cleare experience hath been hereof in this late deceased generation and in some who still remaine of them whose first zeale and loue which they had at their first receiuing the Gospell being after slaked hath neuer after been as it was recouered For though they haue seene their falles and repented and obtained mercy yet the Lord hath left a marke of that their sinne behind both to minister and people so that they haue rarely recouered their former zeale the one in feruent preaching and care taking ouer the people the other in cheerefull profession vprightnesse of heart and holy walking but haue limped in some sort afterwards and they doe come short of the grace they had before the which the Lord hath suffered to put them in remembrance of that their sin euen as a man hauing fallen from an high beame or tree and broken his bones though hee get them set together againe so that they may serue the turne in some sort yet he neuer feeles them perfectly cured but euer painfull and lame afterward or much impaired And to adde one instance more such as after they truly repented haue fallen into adultery or any such hainous crime though they haue risen againe out of it and giuen good testimony thereof although they come to be truly perswaded that it is forgiuen them yet what vnquietnesse doe they oft finde within themselues what shame and holding downe of the head doth it cause outwardly before men whereby they are much appalled and held backe in respect of that they might haue been from good doing besides how many of the louers of the truth are strong enough to receiue them as they did before though it be their sinne that they doe not and as freely to communicate with them euery way but are much estranged from them and hardly conceiue of them whereby it may bee seene that their credit is much impaired thereby among men although they bee still in fauour with God as Dauid and others were The which the Lord in his prouidence doth to them and such like to keepe them in awe who are so ready to breake out againe and that all may see how God detesteth sinne euen in his owne and also that hee may thereby stir vp more serious repentance and constant holding on in that course and that they bee notled away from it by the errour of the wicked in such as are brought into the right way already That which hath been said of this point that I may teach a further vse of it ought to prouoke al such as by the grace of God are kept from such reprochfull sinnes to yeeld continuall thankes to God for it which it is to be feared is much neglected as well as for other benefits which giue them iust cause to doe the same But if any lie in knowne and offensiue crimes and yet can cunningly keepe them from mens eyes and looke no further let such know they are worse then the worst I haue spoken of whose sins yet haue broken out before men And seeing the best may fall possibly and that dangerously and so doing are sure that their sinne will finde them out and that they shall smart accordingly let the other much more thinke that God will vnskirt and vnuizor them to their shame in his good time and let the best count it no lost nor needlesse care to keepe themselues well while they are well I meane free from
before men are fitted and framed to heare the Lord speake vnto them but being bitten with sorrow they are glad to cling to him But alas what commeth of the most of these his corrections and sharp dealings with such Nay for that I can say no more but this that the most of them doe but bow for the time as a bulrush with the winde their goodnesse being as the morning dew and so it goeth away and they cry out onely while the rod is held ouer them and afterward they returne againe to their old byas And so did these heere and so doe many seeke the Lord for a time and yet turne aside againe as a broken bow But if such as be thus cast downe as these were when God afflicteth them so that one would think they would neuer lift vp their bristles against him any more if these I say doe yet waxe bold and kicke vp their heele against him what shall we thinke of them who relent not at all for their euill doings no nor for Gods heauie hand vpon them but harden their harts as the dog which biteth the staffe that beateth them What then yee will aske is to bee done if groning vnder mens burthens of sinne and punishment haue no good effect All the remedy heere is this that men in such cases finding out their sins doe also seriously consider of the foulenesse of them and the woe that they bring with them and so tread them also vnder their feet and beleeue better things to bee comming from God toward them euen mercy and forgiuenesse which onely are able to crush their sinnes in peeces afterwards as well as to make them kindly and truly acknowledged and cried out of while the smart taketh hold of them This be noted of their groning Now behold what the Lord did when they did thus complaine and cry out he had compassion on them and raised them vp Iudges that should deliuer them out of the hands of their oppressors and spoilers and he did so and was with them and it repented him that he had so suffered them to be oppressed He doth oft as he did to Ahab pitty sinners when they smarting for their faults cry out of them but he doth not receiue them to mercy except they truly forsake them which I say for our instruction that wee may know that the Lord is easily to be entreated of vs waiting indeed our repentance And when we do but giue signes of disliking our sinnes for the time he stayeth his heauie hand from pursuing vs what would hee doe thinke we if we came home to him with all our hearts But so we must know on the other side that hee in so dealing with vs heapeth hot coles vpon our heads add maketh vs vnexcuseable when wee hauing such faire encouragement at his hands shall yet keepe a loofe from him and shew vnfaithfulnes when we haue made couenants with him of amendment But heere commeth in their misery as in this verse is to bee seene that when he did all this to them that heere is set downe yet for all his pitying them and shewing so great kindnesse toward them yet their Iudges who called them from Idolatry were not heard nor regarded of them They considered not what a benefit it was to enioy such although they cried in the anguish of heart for helpe in trouble Now in that this was a common thing with them after their deliuerances thus vnthankfully to deale with the Lord in not obeying their Iudges for so they are charged heere to haue done and in the chapters following is to be seene that they did so by this briefly let vs learne that men are rarely the better for their deliuerances out of their troubles howsoeuer they crie to God in the middest of them Whereas a man would thinke it should be the thing most regarded of them and they should be oft in considering both how irkesome and vncomfortable it was to them when they lay in affliction as in paine of body by sicknesse or disease or in pursuit by enemies or in any other distresse also what a gracious liberty it was and what ease to them when they were deliuered yea and with all this they should yeeld rare thankesgiuing to God for the same especially seeing it is the end of all deliuerance euen the greatest and withall this that we may serue the Lord euer after without feare Againe another thing is not to bee omitted in this verse that in stead of hearkening to and obeying God and their Iudges they fell againe directly to Idolatry and so forsooke the God of their fathers and most brutishly bowed themselues to their Idols which were but blocks and could doe nothing for them A deceiueable pleasure they tooke therein as mans nature is very prone to serue God after a grosse and false manner yea and the holy story sheweth that they did quickly fall to this and turne out of the way to teach vs how soone a well ordered course and good things are forgotten and laid aside This as it may bee obserued in this people that they soone waxed wearie of their good beginnings so also it is apparant in others that come after them who though they haue good example before their eyes to goe before them therein yet they are soone carried another way especially when the chiefe persons are gone who delighted in well doing And yet further to lay out their sinne it is set forth by an apt and fit similitude of fornication euen as holinesse to God is in the Scripture oft times compared to chastnesse in marriage For as the whoremonger is drunken and besotted with his lewd companions so that he can regard no counsell neither can see it to be his discredit to be linked in with such an one neither is moued with the wasting of his goods which is caused thereby euen so the spirituall whoremonger which is the Idolater is as blind as his Idoll and cannot bee disswaded from it but an Image and Crucifix ouerswayeth him when the worshipping of God in spirit and truth is tedious and vtterly vnsauoury to him The reason of all this which I haue said of him and of all such at this day who aggrauate their sin in the like manner is this that men regard nothing but their ease vain pleasure haue no consciences to performe their promises vowes made to God in the time of their affliction Againe they being either void of faith vtterly or hauing receiued some small measure of it and being slow negligent in the meanes vsing daily and duly whereby it should be confirmed they hauing also others to ioyne keepe company with them in doing as they do it easily commeth to passe that they so soone decline and their promise which they made to God of repentance doth vanish like the sparkles THE SIXTEENTH SERMON VPON THE SECOND CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES Vers 19. 20. 21. VERS 19. Yet when the
third verse which I haue ioyned with the fifth to shew that Israel dwelt among the nations this doubt is to bee answered namely how it can bee affirmed that the cities of the Philistims are said not to haue been possessed of the Israelites I meane Ekron Askelon and Gaza but to be at the time heere mentioned in the Philistims hands seeing in the first chapter of this booke vers 18. it is said that they were taken and enioyed with their borders of Iuda and Simeon in warre made with them To the which it is answered that they were indeed at that time taken by them but now after that they were not in the possession of them but for the sinnes of Israel their strength was abated and the Philistims power was confirmed Whereby without any difficulty it came to passe that they recouered them againe By the which it may bee obserued what changes and alterations sin worketh God in his prouidence so appointing for by their sinne this came to passe By eating the forbidden fruit what an alteration was wrought in the estate of our first parents that they lost their honour their holines and their happinesse in one moment of time and were brought to the contrary euen to vtter misery And Dauid for that one sinne with Bathsheba the wife of Vriah what a breach made he of the most sweet peace of conscience which hee before enioyed beside the changes that it wrought in this life by many punishments and in his posterity also The like is wel knowne of Sampson Salomon and many other of the Lords people That we may see that he spareth not his owne if they prouoke him as he saith in the Psalme If mine owne children breake my lawes I will punish euen their sin with the rod c. And are they exempt in this age who sin in the like manner How are many of them plagued for breaking couenant with God in committing some reprochfull sinne as adultery deceit spite and reuenge oppression or wrong grosse worldlinesse forsaking their constant course in a godly life and their zealous worshipping of him These I say and such like iniquities for so cunningly can the diuell handle the matter that they may all possibly fasten vpon them what changes thinke wee doe they bring to passe as sorrow for ioy feare in stead of godly courage and confidence shame for credit and good report with many such like This is foretold in Deuteronomie 28. a chapter to this purpose worthie to bee often read ouer because it containeth a prophesie of all the euils which were inflicted vpon this people in their times for their apostacy and backsliding from God If a man be absent but seuen yeeres from his acquaintance Oh how will they say hee is changed But this is nothing to the change that sinne worketh Yea and not only the forementioned sinnes which are grosse among men doe worke these great changes in their liues but also those which are grosse in the eyes of the Lord euen they do the like as the minding delighting in and attempting the forementioned sinnes or the like though it bee but vnder-hand as they say and not effected nor committed what alterations doe these worke in a man also And beside their other punishments which change and disfigure them the often buffeting of the conscience which is some taste of hell doth also as hornets torment them What doth idlenesse of minde worke and the wandring after other loathsome lusts and desires also a slight following of mens callings and much more the grosse neglecting of them wherein yet faithfully and diligently to be occupied is a piece of Paradise what do these I say and such like bring to passe but vnwelcome changes decay and wasting of their estate with bondage and disguisednesse which they bring themselues into in such wise that they haue not the benefit of the Christian life themselues and they are afraid through an euill conscience to reproue sinne in other and if they should yet are they not regarded in that which they say for they haue dishonoured the Lord and hee hath taken their honour from them that their words shall not bee set by So that I may truly say their sin hath brought many changes into their liues and they neuer almost recouer the comfort of their former daies for I speake of such as haue knowne better since they vnhappily lost it I haue but shewed in some sort what changes sinne worketh in Gods people And seeing it is lesse doubted of that it doth much more in the liues of them who were neuer well gouerned I will not make the like discourse of the effects that it worketh in them but shut vp briefly that which I meane to say thereof And to speake the truth as sinne swarmeth rageth and getteth the vpper hand in them so it maketh strip and wast where it goeth and hauoke of all that good is where any apparance was of it in them as the vnseasonable frost or East wind doth of the tender blossomes in the spring and the like it doth worke in their estates and liues that commit it by bringing in punishment and iudgements of God thicke and three-fold As by whoredome and riot the wasting of body and goods by drunkennesse diseases by quarrelling and vncharitablenesse sutes and losse of their sweet peace in neighbourhood by pride stoutnesse and statelinesse a fall yea ruine and vtter misery Examples are infinite as in the destruction of Babel for their insolency against God the swallowing vp of Chorah for his rebellion may be seene also in the drowning of Pharaoh for mocking of God so oft to the young man the threatening of iudgement for his iollity the rich mans going to hell for taking his pleasure heere in all these I say with a great number more this is to bee seene what woe sinne hath wrought to the committers of it and it would much more in Scripture and experience at this day appeare if men were not wittingly blind in beholding it as also but that God hath had a regard to maintaine and preserue society among men for which cause many wicked ones are spared for a time And this be said of the changes that sinne worketh which I haue said by occasion of the Israelites losing and yeelding againe the cities of the Philistims with the priuiledges thereto belonging into their hands because of their sinne Whereas it was said before vers 1. and 4. that those nations were left to try Israel whether they would obey the commandements of the Lord here it is set downe how they carried themselues in the triall namely that they made marriages with them and serued their gods they had no power to resist and doe otherwise And by this we may see with what danger wee liue among Idolaters and wicked men for in that it is said heere that they ioyned in marriage together which was specially forbidden them in Deuteronomie
which is translated message or errand doth not onely signifie a word or message by mouth but also a thing or deed such as that was which he did vnto him for he was sent from God to kill him euen as among the Latines Verbum res Quid hoc verbi est Quid hoc rei est both are one Now followeth the third thing and that is in this 20. verse namely of Ehuds last words to the King immediately before he killed him and of Eglons behauiour thereat as it is heere set downe let vs consider of which this I say In that he should so simply hearken to and beleeue him admit him into his secret parlour and that Ehud being a stranger should neither be suspected nor searched as the manner is and great reason was for it before hee should haue accesse to the King and that none of all the Kings attendants should aduise such a matter that hee should not bee suffered to stand on his feet before the King which was more suspitious but rather commanded to bee vpon his knees before him and then that hee should cause his owne company to goe out of the place and leaue them two onely together but especially to let Ehud depart before they saw all to be wel These I say and such like if the Lord had not blinded and cast a myst before them could neuer haue passed as they did And we may say it was much like that which we reade of Abner captaine of Sauls hoast and all his men to wit that when he imagined that Dauid pursued him and sought his life and should therefore haue more specially watched and attended the Kings person then at other times yet that euen then all the armie should be asleepe together where they lay in so much that Dauid challenged Abner for it was it not admirable For it could not haue been so in any reason except God had cast a sleepe vpon them to the end that Dauids integrity and innocency toward Saul might be knowne when there was seene no other way to shew it and all saw that would how he might haue killed Saul And hereby let vs learne that when God will haue any worke wrought or any thing brought to passe for his glory the good of his Church or destruction of his enemies he hauing many waies to bring it to passe will effect it through infinite difficulties without our troubling our selues about it For his prouidence alway ministreth to and makes way for his purpose till it be executed Dauid was so coped in by Saul at one time that there seemed no hope of escape but then the Lord whistled him away and set him about other businesse What lets and discouragements thinke wee had Noah to hold him from that great worke of building the Arke to the preseruing of the world and the Church of God I will leaue it to the consideration of the reader rather then spend the time in laying it forth In the bringing to passe Gods promise to Ioseph in his dreame what a long time was it before it was effected euen well nigh twentie yeeres and how vnlike and in the meane while how many difficulties were raised and set in the way to the frustrating of it as the malice and enuie of his brethren some of them intending and seeking to kill him but all the company consenting that he should be sold to strangers a farre off from whence they thought he should neuer haue bin any more seen of them neither his dreames come to passe and then his imprisonment also after all by the false accusation of his whorish mistrisse who would not haue said that by the meanes of all these he should haue been vtterly depriued of the benefit of the promises which God had made to him But could they preuaile was any iot of Gods word made voide so that it came not to passe And was all the cruell malice of Haman easily auoided in plotting the destruction of all the Iewes Gods people the day thereof being appointed the King perswaded by him to let all be as hee would haue it and no friend to them but they were as sheep appointed to be slaine but they that were in as great danger themselues that is to say Hester and Mardocai and when shee the Queene who was all their hope vnder God should goe about to helpe them out of the danger she brought her selfe thereby into the present perill of her life And yet because it could not be possible that the Church of God should be ouerthrowne did not he most strangely deliuer it But to let passe examples in Scripture euen thus the Lord hath and doth vphold his Church heere and there for a time against all enemies and lets and will doe till he hath accomplished and made vp his number And when wee see that he continueth his fauour more specially to any place or people through many trials let vs say the Lord hath done great and maruellous things for them and they had need to acknowledge his kindnesse and profit by it more then in common manner lest their account be harder to be made then other mens And to come to shew it more particularly and so to conclude this point if euery priuate person whom this concerneth could weigh through what difficulties as tentations and discouragements God hath brought him to hold and keepe faith and a good conscience both in the beginning middle part of his combate and conflicting daies and more specially when he hath well nigh runne his race and finished his course with ioy oh what thankes would he render to the Lord for it For all such may well remember how oft they haue said within themselues that they shall neuer be stablished and perseuere to the end and that the promise of heauen made to them is too good to be true And yet God hath so mixed his power with their weakenesse and so vpheld them beyond their expectation that hee hath brought them safely through all that they feared Oh I cannot sufficiently magnifie and commend this goodnesse of the Lord and withall the glorious worke of faith and what wonders they effect and yet little known or asked after But seeing the arme of the Lord is no more shortened now then in times past but he doth great things for them that beleeue at this day let vs also learne Dauids lesson Commit thy way to the Lord saith he and beleeue that he will effect it and he will doe it in deed without any needlesse and indirect trouble or fretting care of thine but if we beleeue not I deny not but that we may see as Elisha told the Prince of Israel and Mordicai Hester Gods promises performed to others which hee made as the vnbeleeuing Prince did but we shall haue no part therein our selues nor cause of sound reioycing thereat in as much as we had no exercise of our faith in beleeuing them Therefore this worthily
vnto in the next place let our care be that the Church of God may giue vs allowance and see iust cause to report well of vs. As it is said of Zacharie and his wife that both they were iust before God and toward men vnreproueable and therfore of good report So Cornelius had a good name among the Iewes Now glorie or good name is a certaine good opinion and estimation conceiued of a man for his well doing For those things which good men doe vertuously and well doe purchase commendation and glorie vnto them The end to the which which we ought to vse and direct this good report is this namely the aduancing of the name of God and also to giue good example to other of following vs and as the ends are both good so is that good also by the which they are procured Therefore although a good name bee not to bee sought for it selfe as though that were the thing wee chiefly intended and rested in and no other yet it is not to be despised for those ends which I haue mentioned namely the glorifying of God and the edification of our brethren Now to end this verse let this be briefly added that Debora yeelding to and helping the weaknes of Barak in going with him teacheth vs thus to regard helpe and incourage our weake brethren by counsell trauaile and example Vers 10. And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh and hee went vp on his feete with tenne thousand men and Debora went vp with him Vers 11. Now Heber the Kenite which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses was departed from the Kenites and pitched his tent vntill the plaine of Zaanaim which is by Kedesh Vers 12. Then they shewed Sisera that Barak the sonne of Abinoam was gone vp to Mount Tabor Vers 13. And Sisera called for all his charets euen nine hundred charets of yron and all the people that were with him from Harosheth of the Gentiles vnto the riuer Kishen IN these foure verses the holy Ghost sheweth how they did on both sides prepare their armies both Barak and Sisera He accompanied with Debora at Kedesh gathered together ten thousand men out of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to Mount Tabor which of the writers is called also Ithaberins not farre off from Kedesh for they went on foote The place is neere to the borders of Asher Naphtali and Zebulon And this mount hath neere it the riuer Kishon where the Prophet Elias killed the priests of Baall And note for the better vnderstanding of the story that al the places mentioned to wit Kedesh the plaine of Zaanaim mount Tabor were all neere ioyning together and to the riuer Kishon This of Barak Sisera hearing of this preparation of Bazak did also make ready his armie which is not mentioned here saue his nine hundred charets of yron but Iosephus saith he had thirtie thousand footmen tenne thousand horsemen of the Canaanites and three thousand other charets But howsoeuer it was sure it is that hee made a mightie preparation and therewith he came to this riuer Kishon And this of the preparation on both sides mentioned in these foure verses And with both there is a briefe storie put in of the dwelling of Heber the Kenite the sonne of Hobab Moses father in law that he had pitched his Tabernacle and was by Gods prouidence come to dwel nigh the riuer Kishon and in a part of the border of Kedesh But why this is brought in shall appeare better afterward in vers 18. The chiefe thing in this verse to bee noted is the faith wherein all these agreed and consented which are here spoken of and mentioned I meane Barak and his armie with Debora For they tooke in hand a most hard work against so fierce a Captaine as Sisera was so well prouided and appointed by Iabin who was King ouer the Canaanites And who would not haue said that their preparation against the Israelites must needs in the reason of man haue wrought an vtter ouerthrow of them As sure it is if they had been ouercome as they were an handfull and few to many and weake also but their enemies strong they had bin most cruelly and barbarously handled by them But notwithstanding all this when they were perswaded that as they were set on worke by God so in his power they went about it and tooke it in hand not casting their eyes vpon the difficulties and disparagements that were in the way against them for God they beleeued would stand with them and giue them the victorie And this indeede is the right propertie of faith thus to doe to look vp to God who hath commanded that which we take in hand and promised blessing thereto By this and by no other meanes Abraham the father of beleeuers forsooke his owne countrey and went whither God sent him from all his kindred not knowing what he should finde in the place whither he went And Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God in the wildernesse then to enioy the pleasures of sinne for a season in the house of Phaeraos daughter which the Scripture saith he did by faith And thus did the walles of Iericho fall downe as God had promised at the seuenth daies end the people beleeuing it should be so and compassing them about all that time with the blowing trumpets of rammes hornes as God had commanded And this is it which we should intend and looke to doe in all that we goe about This faith for which also these worthie persons are by name commended in the eleuenth to the Hebrewes is able to carrie vs as well as euer it did them through all difficulties while we haue an eye to the charge giuen vs and the promised reward although we see nothing with bodily eyes but that which is against vs and matter of discouragement For so the Apostle S. Iohn saith that this saith ouer commeth the world euen all the difficulties that are in it This faith when it is once setled on the great promise of saluation is afterward the fitter to apprehend and lay hold on these temporarie promises of this life about the which it being a Iewell of inualuable price if we were occupied and exercised with so constant a care as wee are about matters of lesse waight if not needlesse and vnprofitable we should be able to say much of the benefit that commeth by it and haue neere acquaintance with God by the helpe of this our faith But seeing I haue spoken of this matter before I will bee the briefer in it though wee cannot heare too often of it from good ground of the word as occasion is offered But whiles I am thus in commending of Bararks faith me thinkes I heare so me obiecting that the last thing spoken of him in the ninth verse was his vnbeleefe how is hee therefore say they so suddenly brought to such a change I
and hazards of warre depend vpon his prouidence being oft times matters of as great weight as the alteration of kingdomes and estates come to Now if Princes must know their victories and honour are giuen them of God then much more we inferiours ought to learne it well that we are beggers and haue nothing nay wee are worse then nought rather then that wee haue ought to glory of as it would soone appeare if we could be brought to consider aright of it euen what infection is in vs to taint and poyson all our actions or if the Lord should but thrust at vs for our euill deeds but euen as it were with his little finger Besides in this verse Debora declareth that shee will yea repeating her words that she will praise the Lord whereby it appeareth shee called Barak to it her selfe and sheweth that shee was so liuely quickened and stirred vp with the feeling of Gods goodnesse declared vnto them that she would doe that dutie if no other did For as the whole Church of God fared the better for this victory so she acknowledged her selfe a part to haue receiued great benefit thereby also and therefore as she was formost in the onset so is shee first in thankesgiuing and put not off the duty to the rest of the people but rather goes before other therein And indued so God worketh in his oft times that his seruants are so rauished with thinking vpon his louing kindnesse that they cannot bee satisfied with prayer and praise giuing to God in publike among other but they must doe it also by themselues alone as Dauid saith I will praise God in the congregation and I wil praise him in secret and they are so bent vnto it that if other should not yet they themselues as many as they can prouoke will do it as the noble man Ioshua said If al run to idolatry I and mine will serue the Lord. And if we consider it well how few weigh Gods goodnesse in publike blessings as in the late discouerie of the treason although many praise God openly for fashion and in ceremony we shall find it no more then needeth to practise this duty alone by our selues apart as we reade of the tribes oft times as well as among others else would not our Sauiour haue willed vs to goe alone euery one by himselfe into his chamber to pray as Isaac also did in the fields how little soeuer many be acquainted therewith and therefore finde the lesse benefit by the prayers and thankesgiuing which they make with others they being in great likelihood made but in hypocrisie or which others make for them Euery mans owne soule best knowes what cause hee hath of thankes better then others and accordingly let him professe it though there bee not many which will be brought to it And of Deboras first words in the song wherein shee stirred vp the Israelites to praise God and the reasons why thus much be said Vers 4. Lord when thou wentest out of Seir when thou departed out of the field of Edom the earth trembled and the heauens rained the clouds also dropped water 5. The mountaines melted before the Lord as did that Sinai before the Lord God of Israel 6. In the daies of Shamgar the son of Anath in the daies of Iael the high waies were vnoccupied and the trauellers walked through by waies 7 The townes were not inhabited they decayed I say in Israel till I Debora came vp who rose vp a mother in Israel IN the first of these two verses which also containe the beginning of their song Debora setteth downe the Lords great mercy in one example to her forefathers the people of Israel which had been shewed long before in the latter two shee maketh mention of his goodnesse toward them at that very time present In the great deliuerance mentioned in the former chapter but more particularly to speake of both and to begin with the first in the fourth and fifth verses we are to know that this story mentioned by her containeth the acts that were done by the Lord after he brought the people of Israel beyond mount Seir when Israel 38. yeeres after their going out of Egypt into the desert were come neare to the land of Canaan namely how wonderfully the Lord tooke part with his people there and ioyned himselfe vnto them against their enemies For he going with them in a pillar of fire and a cloud did terrifie their enemies the Ammorites in such wise that though the Israelites were vnexperienced in warre and strangers there and were weake and vnfit also for such worke yet their enemies could not resist them and not onely so but she saith that the Lord cast such a feare vpon them as if the earth had trembled and great stormes and tempests had been cast downe from the clouds and as if the mountaines had melted and been shaken By these allegoricall speeches she describeth the feare that was smitten into the Amorites at Israels comming neare them when the Lord brought them out of Egypt And further shee addeth to the same end that euen as mount Sinai for so it must bee vnderstood though the word like as bee not expressed at the Lords comming downe vpon it was shaken and moued so did the nations at the comming of Israel feare and were terrified And in laying out Gods kindnesse thus towards her fathers long before shewed to them as commonly this is reckoned to be one that he brought them out of Aegypt thorow the fearefull wildernesse to Canaan in many other places of the Scripture her meaning is to declare that hee shewed not this fauour now of late onely to them who liued at that time but of old and long agoe also to his people in former ages as they stood in need of his aide diuersly and that for their sakes also And if wee obserue the Scriptures which are a glasse of Gods administration and gouerning of his Church we shall see that there is little mention made of other nations of the earth or their affaires but the bent of them is wholly as it were with a streight line directed to the Churches vse and benefit as either to punish or blesse them for his people sake To this his Church all his workes of loue mercie iustice wisedome prouidence are referred for though God be the Sauiour of all yet especially of the faithfull in his Church From whence wee are to learne that God hath in all ages bin bountifull and gracious to his Church as well as now euen to our forefathers in their daies and so from age to age as it is written his mercie endureth for euer For it hath been deare to him as the spouse or bride to the Bridegrome And his loue hath been more hot then fire that cannot be quenched with much water And to this end hee hath been so affected to it that it might know that he loueth it as hee saith in Exodus If
setteth downe the manner of the battell on the behalfe of the enemies namely that they came solemnely to fight and well prouided accompanied with Kings both of Canaan and other countries to furnish and adorne the armies and yet for all that they fought vnprosperously and vnhappily and had very hard successe For the Lord fought against them from heauen the riuers and waters swallowed them vp and swept them away and their horses were vnhoofed Now when they were fought against all these waies they were scattered fell before Israel in wonderfull manner for all the multitude shew of them This vnprosperous fighting of theirs is set down by her first generally in the 19. verse then more particularly in the next three as shall appeare when we come to them In the 19. verse thus by a figure whereby not without a bitter vpbraiding of them she intimateth more then she expresseth They receiued no gaine of money nay they iost all and Israel enioyed a rich spoile The like figure is vsed in the Psalme A broken heart thou wilt not despise that is Thou wilt make great account of it The phrase it selfe as we vse it for it is a nipping scoffe is as much as if she had said they might put the gaines in their eyes c. In this verse also she sheweth the pompe and multitude of the enemies and how they filled all the plaine betwixt mount Tabor and the townes of Taanach and Megiddo euen to their riuers running by them which were called by the same names this I say Debora doth as well declare as how ill they sped namely that they got not that which they sought and looked for I meane the ouerthrow and spoile of the Israelites nay rather they were miserably spoiled and distroyed themselues By the which two things may be noted One that wee may see the glorie of wicked men florishing like the greene bay tree I say of wicked men for otherwise I grant godly persons may be honourable and great and we may see also that this their glorie reacheth as it were to the very cloudes as wee reade in the Psalme yea and that in the time of warre as here which yet can in no wise shew it as the times of peace may yea and that for their glorie they may be sholed with Princes and be almost companions with Kings these I say and such like we may possibly see as terrors to daunt and grieue vs for the aduancement of them is heauinesse and matter of hanging downe the head to the righteous And wâ—â—t of this you may say when this may bee seene and why shall it be thus Surely that Gods people may not haue their eyes dazeled with their pompe and glorie when they shall see them pulled from it but that they may hereby be weaned and estranged the more from the dangerous and poysoned baites that would hurt them as they haue done the other but by faith â—ee their downfall euen in the middest of their glorie and while they to their hearts desire enioy all outward things and all because they are the Lords ranke enemies Secondly that they may cleaue to God more faithfully and also waite more constantly to see the glorie of such turned to shame if they preuent it not by repentance And let this be the vse of this first thing vnto vs. The second that I note here is this according to that in the Prouerbs that the wicked doe not alwaies roste that which they get in hunting that is they doe not alwaies attaine to that which they promise themselues in the earnest desire of their hearts and whereof they haue great likelihood as well as hope but God cutteth them off from it to their great vexation and disappointment yea and the godly shall see it and triumph as Debora did here and Israel ouer Pharao For though that be true that they are fatted here and haue more then they might looke for which yet they haue but to their destruction yet that the righteous may not enuie them but see that the Lord takes their part against them and lest the proud themselues should thinke there is no God that seeth them they are crossed in their purposes and many times when they hope for that which they would most willingly enioy the Lord frustrateth and mocketh them as he did the King of Aram when all his secret plots and purposes against the King of Israel were bewraied to him by the Prophet Elisha and hee sheweth them thereby that they haue him not alwaies at their commandement as neither can they goe about any of their attempts without his sufferance That it may be verified that when none else can yet euen then God resisteth the proud And as the Lord thus matcheth and disappointeth them when it seemeth good to him in their common dealings that they attaine not that which they aime at and looke for so especially when they fight against God and play the giants against heauen like Nebuchadnezzar and when their insolencie vttereth it selfe against the poore Church of God as many of them chuse this as the fittest obiect to vomit their poyson vpon then the Lord in an answerable manner riseth vp and scatters them lookes downe from heauen and laughs them to scorne and scatters them for why they banded themselues against his annointed For example sake though the Scripture be full of such let these two at this time suffice The one is of them that would build a citie that should reach vp to heauen to get them a name the Lord set himselfe against them cast downe their building and called the name thereof Babell that is confusion For what a pride was in them and to what had it been like to haue growne if God had let them alone and suffered their worke to goe forward The other example is of Haman who being so inward with the king and aduanced by him when he looked yet to rise higher he was vnlooked for cast downe from all his dignitie when his shame was made sutable to his glorie And thus as it fared here with Sisera in stead of great successes and increasings of their purposes and dignities they are not defeated thereof only but are faine to lose that which they enioyed before the Lord making their ambition the next meane of their ouerthrow So God deales with many of whom some rising out of the dunghill to great wealth and honour not only are ioynted otherwise oftentimes but when they want nothing but life and length of daies to enioy their florishing estate still behold euen that way he meeteth with them and by death somtime reprochfull enough but to be sure with paine and woe enough besides that after their going hence hee cuts them off from all their iolitie as it were at one blow And who fearing God might haue liued by them if they could haue prolonged their daies This be said of the 19. verse and in generall of
reuiued and refreshed thereby and how dead in good duties wee are and vnprofitable our consciences being Iudges without them And it is well if here by this we winde out of all poisoned baites that are laid for vs. And this of the first of the foure parts of the Chapter I haue spoken in this former part of this verse and somewhat also before in other Chapters that is of the peoples sinne The second part of the Chapter NOw it followes the second that is of the punishment that followed their sinne and how they cried to the Lord vnder it in these sixe verses Their punishment was seuen yeeres oppression by the Midianites as in this verse is to be seene and the manner of their oppressing them is set downe in the fiue verses following And for their oppression by the Midianites let it teach vs that it was iust because they had sinned For God scourgeth men iustly and not without their due desert Man suffereth for his sinne as the Prophet Ieremy saith So that if any should thinke they are hardly handled being punished of God let them proue themselues without sinne or else let them hold their peace Nay I will yeeld more then so to them let them be able but to proue this that they haue only offended through infirmitie and not rather wilfully and of knowledge and they shall either be freed altogether from great vexations in their liues or else they shall freely and without constraint confesse that God hath dealt iustly yea mercifully in so visiting of them rather then that he hath done them any wrong Thus much for this and that God will punish when men prouoke him by their transgressions as we may here learne I haue in other places shewed The manner of the Midianites oppressing the people of Israel was the spoiling them of their victuall namely corne and cattell for the space of seuen yeeres without which they could not liue Their corne they destroied when they had sowen their fields And they were driuen to make them cabins in the hollow places of the earth vnder the hils and rocks where they had holes and creuises to let in light to defend themselues from them and in the fields and lower parts of the earth they made them dennes and darke places not fit for habitation but in which they might safely lay their goods and substance to hide them from the Midianites They made also high towers and strong from which they might see a farre off which could not be beaten down easily and these shifts they were faine to make For their enemies were as grashoppers on the face of the earth and their camels and other beasts to destroy the fruites of the Israelites were almost without number What these Midianites were and of what stocke they came it is not necessarie to inquire seeing it is not set downe though some writers say that they had their beginnings thus that one of Abrahams sonnes which he begat of his wife Ketura builded a citie beyond Arabia in the South in the desert of the now called Saracens and called the name of it Midian or Madian and the people of it were called Midianites or Madianites and were supposed to be they of whom the Kenites came These brought with them the Amalakites and men of the East to helpe them This was a grieuous and sore affliction to be thus driuen to extremities for want of food And yet no other then was long before threatned among many other to come vpon them for their apostacie and idolatrie For what though we heare of no consuming of the people of Israel in battell yet beside that it could not be but that many of them were slaine by so long and violent assaulting them so what death is more cruell then by liuing to be famished and what miserie in this life greater then to be to seeke of foode where it can hardly be come by and yet that which is to bee reserued and had is scarcely fit to preserue life Here therefore by the contrary wee may see what a benefit of God this is when in a land and in cities townes and villages all people may be fed fit for their condition when there is no inuasion of forraine enemies to spoile and destroy the fruits of the earth whereby the inhabitants are preserued nor any famine by any other iudgement of God and when there is no iust cause of complaining in our streetes We know in the great famines that are mentioned in the Scriptures yea and in smaller famines in our owne remembrance what crying and lamentations there haue been In the daies of Abraham Isaac and chiefly of Iacob when they were forced to send into Egypt for corne In the time of Elimelek and Naomi when they were driuen from their dwelling in Bethelem Iuda to goe and soiourne in the land of Moab for want of food and after in the daies of Ioram King of Israel when the men had no other way to preserue their liues but by eating that which was against nature yea and yet they could hardly come by it and when the women did eate their own children as also in the last besieging of Ierusalem by the Romans And to what end speake I this but that we should lift vp our hearts and more feruently and oft be thankfull to God for this one benefit of plentie although who seeth not that it is indeed but one of many yea of infinite other which wee receiue And why doth God this Euen to the end men may follow their callings diligently and conscionably with cheerefulnes and with the same minde walke in the feare of the Lord continually And therefore the euill example in life that in the abundance of Gods earthly blessings doth flow euery where in drunkennesse and all lasciuiousnes doth draw vpon men greater plagues then wants and famine are and that is leanenes of soule blindnes vnbeliefe hardnesse of heart and impenitencie which if we had the spirit of the Prophets wee should deeply bewaile But to leaue such I adde this that for the quickning vp of the best it were fit for them when they grow to a meane and common esteeming of these benefits of God to suppose with themselues and put the case that they were in want and penurie euen in the state of this people of God by the oppression of the Midianites or the like As that when they haue sowne their seede it should be spovled before their faces so that they should not eate of it and that the prouision which they haue made for their liues should be carried away by enemies or taken from them and they famished for want of it it would make them better to value and prize such benefits and yeeld to the Lord a more holy and fruitfull vse of them Whereas commonly men doe not so till they be driuen to it by wants and decay in their substance then they can say Oh what plentie of Gods benefits
may say hired with blessings to serue him wee turne our backes vpon him and with his owne benefits we strengthen our selues to grieue him in the breach of his Sabbaths in the leauing off or cold vse of our prayers in vncharitablenes reuenge and the breach of other particuler commandements which is not to be suffered THE FOVRTH PART OF THE Chapter Vers 11. And the Angell of the Lord came and sate vnder the oake which was in Ophrah that pertained vnto Ioash the father of the Ezrites and his sonne Gedeon threshed wheate by the wine presse to hide it from the Midianites Vers 12. Then the Angell of the Lord appeared vnto him and said vnto him The Lord is with thee thou valiant man Vers 13. To whom Gedeon answered Ah my Lord if the Lord be with vs why then is all come vpon vs and where be all his miracles which our father told vs of and said Did not the Lord bring vs out of Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken vs and deliuered vs into the hands of the Midianites Vers 14. And the Lord looked vpon him and said Goe in this thy might and thou shalt saue Israel out of the hands of the Midianites haue not I sent thee Vers 15. And he answered him Ah my Lord whereby shall I saue Israel Behold my father is poore in Manasseth and I am the least in my fathers house Vers 16. Then the Lord said vnto him I will therefore be with thee and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man NOw wee haue heard the third part of the Chapter that they turned to the Lord by the reproofe of the man of God which though it bee not expressed appeareth by this that God sent them tidings of deliuerance The fourth part followeth wherein the victorie ouer the Midianites is promised This promise is amplified foure waies First by naming the person who should deliuer them that is Gedeon to verse 17. The next by granting him a signe whereby hee might know who hee was that spake to him to vers 25. The third was a charge of casting downe Idolatrie giuen to him by the Lord to vers 33. Lastly how Gedeon attempted warre after the Idolatrie was destroyed God granting him a double signe whereby he might know that he should haue the victorie and this to the end of the Chapter Thus much be said in generall of this fourth part of the Chapter The particuler branches follow the first is that Gedeon should deliuer Israel out of the hands of the Midianites For the declaration of the which foure points are also to be considered First the Angels appearing to Gedeon and saluting of him comfortably to verse 13. The second is Gedeons sorrowfull answering of him to verse 14. Thirdly the Angels words to remoue his heauinesse saying hee should deliuer Israel to the 15. And lastly when Gedeon saw not how it could be done by him the Angel told him and satisfied him to the 17. Now let vs looke into these verses more neerely It is said in this 11. verse that the Angel of the Lord came after the peoples repentance and sate vnder an oake in that place Ophrah where Ioash dwelt who was of the familie of Abiezer in the tribe of Manasse and the father of Gedeon This Angell was the sonne of God as verse 13 proueth appearing to him in the shape of a man and saluting him thus The Lord is with thee thou valiant man as it shall well appeare by the courage that God will giue thee in the waightie affaires that follow Now Gedeon was thrashing corne to hide it from the Midianites that he might preserue his life thereby and the liues of those that were his And this speech the Angel had to Gedeon before he told him that he should deliuer the people out of the hands of the Midianites Out of this 11. verse note diuers things and first this that men of wealth and place as Gedeon was in so meane a tribe though hee was spoiled of the necessarie helpes of maintaining his life as the most of the rest also were such men I say should not refuse labour as husbandrie or any other of honest sort Gedeon had seruants and yet he thrashed the corne himselfe And it is a thing which we reade to haue been not onely practised of him but of the old fathers mentioned in the Scriptures as in all other writers that what time they had free either from religious or ciuill affaires they imployed it about cattell and corne For they would not spend the precious time in eating drinking play or idlenesse which they abhorred euen as the religiouser yea and the ciuiller sort of our Gentrie also doe For they take vpon them honest imployments The one sort after reading diuine bookes and Chronicles and statutes whereby they may benefit both themselues and others with the knowledge of Gods law and mans the other after they haue read of matters to helpe gouerne and doe good in the Common-wealth although they little looke after religion will haue recourse to husbandrie Such namely of the first sort were Abraham Isaac Iacob and others as Gedeon here whose father Ioash was in some authoritie among the people yet his sonne contemned not the practise of husbandrie which is and may be spoken to the iust charging of many in our age who if they bee borne worshipfully thinke it too base how meane soeuer their wealth be either to set and appoint to themselues any times for reading or to haue any skill in that honest state of husbandrie saue onely to take their rents and liue of them which yet were more commendable in them if they did not consume the rest of their time in idlenesse pastime or worse Whereas tillage keeping of cattell planting in their fields and grafting with such like imployments are both delectable gainfull and honest and such as chace away many needlesse charges and much ill company which is a great waster and the ill spending of the time in such vaine exercises as they delight in And if it be not allowed to men of worship to passe their time in such manner but that euen they must occupie their talent till the Lord come and not passe the time in fleshly ease taking play idlenesse and other like prophane behauiour much lesse is it tollerable in meaner persons to be ill imployed But beside this seeing by so fit an occasion I am lead to speake I will therefore say a little and that not vnprofitable of this common sort of people For the most part setting aside the skumme of townes I meane the vnthriftie and riotous and the godlesse poore who liue vpon the sweate of others this I may say that they take paine enough and a man shall not need to spend much time in perswading them to worke but this is hardly beaten into them to obserue the due manner of working or the end why or the ground whereupon The motiue is penurie the end couetousnesse
and better they looke for and feare no change till it come This I say of them but how vnbeseeming is it that a beleeuer should haue so much as a tang of this strong vnbeliefe in his deepe sorrowes to wit not onely to wish it were otherwise which in some sort is not to be disalowed and eagerly to desire a redresse and impatiently to beare the burthen which his sinne hath brought vpon him and not to be little vpholden by this that God is the God of the vallies as well as the mountaines that his loue is the same in trials if it also appeare not greater which it was in prosperitie So vnwelcome is the crosse and so sweete is the contrarie to the flesh that men haue no eares to heare of this doctrine to beleeue that God is neare vnto them yea euen with them in the middest of their sufferings For why They looke onely at this in my prosperitie God was with me but now my estate is contrarie therefore God is absent And therefore if any man be at hand to promise them health fauour or reliefe in their sicknesse trouble or losse they lift vp their eyes and open their eares to that voice though it come but from a man like themselues but to God who hath promised I will bee with thee I will not leaue thee nor forsake thee they cannot bee comforted with that saying but still looke full heauily and swearing with Gedeon euery one by himselfe Oh Lord if it bee so that thou art with me how then is this euill and trouble come vpon me Why Did I euer promise thee saith he that no aduersitie should betide thee Nay rather haue I not sent this euill that thou mightest therein haue good proofe of my loue toward thee in vpholding thee therein And learne this lesson yet better that I am yesterday and to day and the same for euer And this is the more odious in vs that we doe not onely faile thus in great and searching troubles such as this was but euen in smaller also And yet which of vs will not be ready to accuse the Israelites if question be moued of them for calling for their flesh-pots and garlike being then in the wildernesse which sometime they had in Egypt and for their murmuring when they had no other foode but Manna and now and then wanted water thus our tongues are ready to descant of others and our censure to goe vpon them which ill becommeth those that shew by their own fainting vnder lighter crosses that their strength of faith was but small in the time of their peace and when they had libertie and freedome from affliction though then they could say aloude with open mouth that they knew God beleeued in him and loued him This be noted of vs out of Gedeons first words in this verse but now further in that he was much occupied in remembring and speaking of his forefathers counting them happie for the myracles which God wrought for them in respect of himselfe hereby wee see how common a sinne it is amongst vs that wee measure our happie estate to God ward by our present sense I meane by Gods blessings or corrections vpon vs which who seeth not how an vnequall a rule it is to goe by But further let vs marke that Gedeon being much occupied about the prerogatiues of Israel in Egypt to wit how God shewed himselfe present to them in working miracles for their deliuerance as if there had been no other thing done there and as though hee should say they were happie but wee die here for want of helpe but marke we I say this that he speaketh not a word of their bondage and hardnes which they suffered there and in the wildernesse as well as that they saw his miracles And so doe we if we haue not the peace prosperitie welfare and other prerogatiues that many of Gods seruants haue and namely of our condition by meanes thereof I say we thinke he is present with them but wee account our selues to be forgotten and neglected of God in comparison of them when yet wee little know of the wants and sufferings both outward and inward of such as we iudge to bee so happie and God to bee present with neither doe wee heare of their sorrowfull complaints and thus wee iudge and speake because of their present prosperitie which wee see when yet it is apparent that wee our selues are not destitute of as great blessings some other way A great infirmitie doubtlesse but much greater it is in vs who haue been taught this oftentimes from many worthie grounds of holy Scripture that wee should not iudge of our selues by others seeing wee know not their estate as we doe our owne for it is certaine that they haue many great calamities vpon them euen then when we iudge them to be so happie and there is no doubt but that they thinke the same of vs for some good things they see in vs which they want and are voide of we haue a surer rule to goe by which cannot deceiue vs that is this that the Lord once louing vs he doth all things for the best to vs. Which if it be so why forget we that and measure our estate by other mens And because wee haue not so vsually the comfort of our faith by present sense and feeling thereof when yet we dare not denie but we haue other graces of God in vs and the workes thereof which are inseparable companions to it wee doe offend much in this that wee will both bee readie to iudge and conclude that we haue no faith and will count other happie in respect of our selues when yet we little know their wants and complainings thereof as I said before Besides this sheweth what an enemie our corrupt nature is vnto vs in the well bearing of our troubles and how ingenious and skilfull wee are to catch vp that which should hurt vs as children doe in handling kniues or such like and turne the edge of euery thing against our selues which being with godly dexterity hādled might singularly benefit vs. But oh how slow and dull are we in taking hold vpon any such thing as might stay vs quiet resolue and comfort vs Rare is that man who hath learned this wisedome and giueth not place to the diuell from whose malice it is that in temptation all things seeme contrarie to that they be because we looke vpon them with a troubled eye and through a false glasse The instance here vsed by Gedeon was meete to haue confirmed his faith rather then to haue weakned it if he had taken it aright For if in their troubles before and in the wildernesse the outstretched arme of the Lord saued them euen miraculously whose worthinesse yet was as little as his to deserue it then how could it hence follow that now it was shortned and weakned so that it could not helpe him but was as present to vphold him Againe let men learne
doubts not to say vnto Timothy He should saue himselfe and others For more particular application of this doctrine reade verse 2. of this Chapter This victory is remembred and made mention of in the Psalme where it is said Doe to them as vnto Midian and as vnto Oreb and Zeeb Which teacheth that this story and so other in the bookes of canonicall Scripture is diligently to bee remembred that wee may haue vse of the diuers good things that are in it that through the Scriptures wee might get knowledge experience consolation and hope as to pray as Gedeon did in danger and distresse to hope and waite for the like successe in our seuerall necessities which God will as surely doe and performe to vs as he did here to his people hauing made the like promises thereof vnto vs as vnto them And through the writings of the Euangelists and Apostles wee shall meet with quotations of Scripture out of the old testament as it were setting a second edge vpon them and teaching the reader with what regard and obseruation he is to reade them As our Sauiour doth in recording the history of Lots wife and in speaking of the prophesie of Daniel touching the pollution of the Temple by the abomination of desolation and diuers such like places besides the fulfilling of the prophesies of the Messias and other things to come to passe in the Church ere the second comming of Christ For to this end the holy stories are written as well as the other books of the Scripture I meane for our instruction edification and comfort As Dauid mentioneth this story so doth Esay speaking of Zenacherib God shall saith he raise vp a scourge like that of Midian And so it came to passe as he prophesied for the whole armie of that King was slaine by God euen as this of the Midianites Now followeth another thing mentioned in this verse that is when the most of them were slaine the Israelites with Gedeon pursued and followed after the rest where note his wisedome in foreseeing and preuenting danger to come When he had scattered them they might haue gotten strength againe afterward and so haue troubled them as before as another Iabin King of Canaan arose which he preuented And in warre this is meet to be done against the enemies both bodily and spirituall Satan being throwne out laboureth as our Sauiour saith to enter in againe This is also necessarie in euery calling to be prouident to keepe away danger by wants and oppression concerning both body and soule It is great wisedome to follow herein the vniust Steward namely in prouiding for the time that should come after and to follow the example of the fiue wise virgins who so prouided oile for their lamps that when the other foolish for want therof were shut out at the bridegroomes comming they entred in with him to the wedding So wee should deale surely to preuent diuel and world and al offences that might break out from vs through our owne corruption and not to be so foolish as to bring needlesse sorrow vpon our owne heads by neglecting any meanes that might remoue it Yea and one Christian with another must be faine and is forced to deale circumspectly there be so many weakenesses in vs and shifts to deceiue lest they breake off their fellowship Wee see daily to what perfection men haue brought their trades and how easily they thriue through carefull marking and remoouing the seuerall inconueniences thereof and vsing the best prouidence and all opportunities making for their gaine which their predecessors knew not But alas how raw and rude yea what bunglers are men in the trade of all trades who beates his braines to attaine to a gift readinesse and dexteritie therein Who seekes to bring the excellencie thereof into the view of the world or vpon their owne proofe and experience to teach others the next and directest way both of being and walking as a Christian And why because men are not wise to follow this trade without breakings off and many onsets and turne-againes they neither will search out and vse the best meanes which may make them expert and bring in gaine nor will learne wisedome to preuent disaduantages annoyances temptations and therefore their worke goes not forward their skill in this trade comes not to ripenesse For behold while they thinke they serue God commendably in some duties which they apply their mind too there growes in them noisome lusts vnseene vnrepented off and these make them new to begin and set them so much behind hand againe that they almost despaire of euer recouering their forwardnesse neglected The Beniamites we reade in the 20. of this booke met their brethren in the field stoutly but lo the euill was behind them and that they were not aware off till the flame and smoke ascended and then all their courage was cooled To teach vs if we will prosper to make cleane worke before vs and leaue not something vndone through sloath which will cost vs double and trebble afterward And if we bee wise let vs learne with Gedeon how to vse and keepe the victorie as well as how to get it how to clense out that euill which we are prone to as do some duties which we like lest according to the prouerbe He that flieth and escapeth will returne and fight againe whereas we might haue slaine him right downe at the first and been past all danger Furthermore it is to be noted as commendable in Gedeon that when he had gotten the victory hee was willing that other should haue part of the glory thereof to wit these other tribes Nephtali Ashur and Manasse who yet could helpe but little comming after Gedeon had gotten the victory with great danger Which example of his should teach vs to vse the gifts of God not so that we should seeke glory by them but to desire that other also might exercise and haue vse of their gifts to the benefit of the Church we of the Ministery especially should doe this that wee may bee able to say as Moses said Would to God that all his people could prophesie yea and to this end let vs rather in giuing honour euen striue to goe before each other yea the meanest who may soonest and easiliest thinke themselues neglected and despised Excellent therefore is the practise of Christ and Iohn Baptist who though they were both admired by diuers sorts of people and that in such wise that there was carnall emulation betweene the Disciples of both yet alway they so carried themselues that the one honoured the other and both fulfilled all righteousnesse Yea Iohn in the middest of his flourishing yet still acknowledged himselfe but the shadow and Christ the substance himselfe the herold and Christ the Prince I must decrease saith he and Christ encrease Which example of his if his successors had as well regarded Satan had not so soone corrupted
labour is not in vaine in the Lord. But as for men they oft times disgrace that which is well done of vs and reuile yea and hate vs for it as Eliab did Dauid for shewing himselfe forward against Gods enemies the Philistims and by name their great champion Goliah for the which hee ought to haue been encouraged rather and highly commended of him So Ioseph who had preserued the land of Egypt both for the time of the famine and long afterwards yet of that King Pharaoh who rose vp in the land some yeeres after of him I say Ioseph was not knowne nor regarded for so the text saith There came another Pharaoh who knew not Ioseph though his welfare arose by and from him vnder God as wel as his predecessors that liued before him did But especially this was verified in our Sauiour Christ who being the light of the Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel was for the vnthankfulnesse of the people and their spitefull dealing against him was faine I say to answere them thus Many good workes haue I done among you for which of them doe you stone me In Heathen stories we reade of the strange ingratitude of people to their victorious gouernours especially Grecian and Romane one of whom being dead had this vpbraiding epitaph engrauen O vnthankfull countrey thou shalt not so much as haue the honour of my bones But that men liuing in the Church should shew such brutish ingratitude who should beleeue it that sees it not Moses the conducter of the people out of Egypt was neuer quiet from the conspiracy and murmurings of them against him The Prophets and Apostles for their painfull prophesyings and trauels in preaching what reward found they So these Ephramites how recompenced they Gedeon for his labour and paines And the other Israelites also looke in the end of his story And so if the worthy seruants of Christ in the magistracy and ministery find the like greetings courtesie thankfulnesse at their hands who should be their best fauourers and encouragers against their aduersaries yea if they find the people whom they gouerne and teach and vpon whom they bestow their liues and strength as the candle that giueth light till it die and goe out to requite them with small reuerence lesse countenance or maintenance and least of all with any fruit in true piety of their godly care and labour in season and out of season bestowed among them what vse shall they make hereof Shall they desist from their good beginnings and giue them ouer to such as may bee like to teach them by fearing them who would not learne it by loue to make more account of them No but first let them looke vp to God and acknowledge his iustice in so trying them and punishing some sinne in them and then answere themselues as the Prophet Esay I haue laboured in vaine to manward but my reward is with God and therfore I must not forsake my standing nor leaue my calling but hold out with courage and constancie vnto the end but more fully of this in the story of Iephta Now then the vse of this is and so let vs take it that we bee not discouraged from conscience and constancy in the seruice of God for the discourtesies and ill dealing of men for of God we are to looke for our reward And yet I must say that without especiall grace it is hard to doe thus and to rest contented with this that God is a plentifull rewarder of all that seeke and come to him and withall to beare the indignities that are offered vs of men Secondly seeing the world dealeth thus vnkindly with Gods seruants let their brethren that feare God bee encouragers and comforters of them that they may hold on in their good course for they are but men and therfore they haue need of encouragement and their weakenesse requireth that they should bee so dealt with And let all such as liue in their places of Ministers or professors with any freedome this way much more with a good liking and mutuall consent or encouragement bee highly thankfull to God for such vnwonted fauours and friendly dealings of men with them as knowing that it is not the portion which the most in the world find or enioy but a peculiar indulgence and fauour from God which ought to stirre vp in them astonishment at Gods kindnesse to them therein and not pride and insolencie And for the sin I now speake of let vs count this vnthankfulnesse and the taking in ill part the good actions of Gods people let vs I say count it for a bitter fruit of a naughty proud and cancred heart wheresoeuer wee meete with it or behold it and thereafter let them thinke of themselues who shew and offer it Now further note another of the faults of these Ephramites against Gedeon and that is that they enuied him for the honour he got by the victory Whereby though they sustained no hurt neither were the worse but the better yet they could not beare it that Gedeon should haue the glory of it where we may see a foule property of enuie and what it is It is a greefe and sadnesse for the prosperity of other and namely of such as bee our equals For the poore man enuieth not the King hee may bee grieued that he himselfe wanteth such good things as the King hath but that is not enuie And by this we may note the difference betweene hatred and malice on the one side and this enuie on the other to this end as wee haue heard of the one so we may in a word of the other Hatred therefore is a greefe conceiued against one for some cause at least as we thinke as Ahab hated Micaiah because hee did not prophesie good to him but euill as he tooke it and the same appeareth also by the contrary out of these words in holy Scripture They hated me without a cause And when I say enuie is a greefe at our equals for any eminency or prosperity that they haue aboue vs I meane such as are in kindred estate yeeres dignity or in gifts like vs. And the cause of this enuie is not for that wee are troubled as though any hurt or danger were comming towards vs from them whom we enuie for that is another affection to wit feare but for that through a cankred stomacke we cannot beare it that such an one as is no better then our selues should bee lifted vp so high and commended so farre aboue vs. And is not this a cursed mind in vs that wee cannot bee willing that another should fare well we being neuer the worse and that wee should haue an euill eye at that for the which we should reioyce for so Mary and Elizabeth did mutually reioyce one for the welfare and blessing of God to the other And so much the more detestable is this affection that whereas some other being
the which who could haue gone about a better thing in all mens account and iudgement But God reproued him by Nathan and yet he himselfe consented to him at first vpon the like good intent So many haue since the daies of Queene Mary and some still doe of a good intent enter into the Ministerie though many other intend nothing but to inrich themselues with liuing whom the Lord alloweth not by his word they being not able to feede his people with the foode of life So wee reade that Saul saued the fattest of the cattell as he said to sacrifice contrary to the word of the Lord which if it had been so had been bad but that was onely a false pretence to couer his couetousnes and disobedience to the commandement Then Samuel reprouing him was faine to answere him Hath the Lord as great pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifice as that his law should be obeyea Therfore good intentions corruptly so called cannot bee accepted of him except they be directed by knowledge Of such intents arose most parts and points of Poperie the orders of Monkes the worshipping of the Sacrament canonicall houres free will reliques prayers to Saints c. Of all the which and the like the Lord saith as he did by the Prophet Esay in the like case Who required these things at your hands And in another place In vaine doth this people worship me teaching for doctrines the precepts of men So that by all which hath been said it is manifest how prone and readie wee are to Idolatrie and superstition And what other thing doth this teach vs but that it is a mysterie to serue God aright and religiously and that cannot stand with the common practise of men in the worshipping of God who receiue not the word in the power thereof to work vpon them effectually and so as they may be cast into the mould thereof but for fashion and orders sake Againe Gedeons setting vp the Ephod was the occasion of the peoples falling to commit spirituall fornication with it through his letting it alone and they worshipped it as their fathers did the brasen Serpent which therfore Ezechia commanded to be taken downe Gedeon had done well therefore if he had so serued the Ephod also when he saw superstition to arise by occasion of it And this is the best fruite and successe of blinde and ignorant deuotion that it draweth some mischiefe alway with it as the grosse absurdities in Poperie of which I spake arose at the first vpon such beginnings So that the thing which in these cases is to bee done is that all superstition and implements thereof be held out of the Church of Christ but if any of them haue been suffered to remaine the next is that as soone as may be they be remoued And as for Gods ordinances they ought not to bee turned from their kinde and right vse of seruing him in ciuill cases as the Ephod was appointed by Gedeon as to make playes of them or offer them any such abuse as the Word and Sacraments But I passe to another thing concerning the people Lastly in that sundry of the people fell to Idolatry with the Ephod who had before worshipped God aright with an vpright heart and a plague of God fell vpon them for it note we that they who after they haue receiued the knowledge of the truth doe fall to Idolatrie doe neuer escape destruction if they lie still therein or some fearfull plague although they rise out of it againe and depart from it Salomon was a witnesse hereof both in himselfe and in his posteritie whose punishment is famous for harkning to his idolatrous wiues And the Lord professeth himselfe in that case to be iealous as a man that taketh his wife in spouse-breach who most certainly will not spare the offender Vers 28. Thus was Midian brought low before the children of Israel so that they lift vp their heads no more and the countrey was in quietnes fortie yeeres in the daies of Gedeon 29. Then Ierubbaal the sonne of Ioash went and dwelt in his owne house 30. And Gedeon had seuentie sonnes begotten of his body for hee had many wiues 31. And his Concubine that was in Shechem bare him a sonne also whose name he called Abimelech IN these foure verses another thing concerning Gedeon is set downe and first it is shewed how Midian for aâ—h â—he multitude and glorie thereof was brought low whereby may be noted the sorrow of such of them as liued and the shame and confusion both of the liuing and the dead with the fruit thereof to wit a finall suppression of that enemie and a long peace of fortie yeeres restored all the life of Gedeon Secondly three more particulars concerning Gedeon are added The first to his commendation that hauing done the seruice for which the Lord extraordinarily called him he willingly yeelded himselfe to a priuate life againe as he professed against the contrarie verse 22. The two latter were to his blame First his polygamie in vers 30. Secondly his yeelding to the vnlawfull desire of his Concubine of Shechem and making way thereby to the mischiefe that insued For the first of these the text saith Midian was subdued and brought low c. which being vnderstood of the multitude of them teacheth and proueth that we ought to looke alwaies to the end of things and not to the beginnings and florishing estate of them and this to doe the Scripture calles sound wisedome Thinke we of the godliest and things of greatest account pleasure pompe dignitie wealth buildings purchases solemne marriages or such like I grant that the most men reioice and please themselues in them vainely and foolishly for the time as if they had gotten a paradise but when all may see them to fade daily with the enioyers thereof and change to corruption no wise man can or dare please himselfe or rest in them as if they could make him happie but as he seeth the end will be therof so he will enioy theÌ„ from God as things decaying and transitorie What then ye will perhaps say shall he not be glad of nor delight in them till he doe forgoe them and till an end of them come I answere that I say not so But hee shall know what the end of them all will be before it come by the manner of vsing them For he that seeketh by all these to be more fruitfull in dutie doing to God and in workes of loue to men and not to take boldnes to sin the rather by occasion of them this man may know that the end shall bee good and in respect thereof hee may vse them all comfortably seeing hee vseth them warily and aright as God directeth him for in that he doth so God also blesseth him exceedingly which blessing few attaine thereto The Lord is brought in by Moses in Deuteronomy bemoning the want of practising this point of wisedome in men
saying Oh that my people were wise and would consider their end And the Apostle asketh this question of the Romanes what fruite or pleasure they euer had in that which in the end brought shame to them The wise the foolish virgins giue cleere proofe vnto this the foolish contenting themselues to bee without oyle in their lampes that is to walke securely were therefore shut out the wise waiting with oyle in their lampes till the Bridegrome came and therefore thus watching to the end were taken in and receiued readily Looke vpon Absolon for all the aduancing of himselfe and on Adonia looke vpon Baltazar for all his iunketting with his choice companie in the holy vessels of the Temple and vpon Haman though he onely was bidden to the banquet with the King by Queene Hester and for all his other honour that hee had which yet he himselfe did not a little boast of was not the end of it greater shame then the best of it was glorie Looke vpon the young man to whom Salomon speaketh who reioyced as if he should neuer be old nor meeâ—e with worse cheare then iollitie and mirth was it not told him he should come to iudgement And what better end of his delicious life found the rich man in the Gospell then torments And thus I might heape vp examples infinitly both out of the Scripture and out of our own experience of them who had gotten much here and they were many in number in al ages that did thus as the Midianites of whom I now speake and were for their greatnes and in their time the talke of the world yet hauing no sure hold of heauen nor part in other happinesse then transitorie came to naught and were worse then nothing so as one may say of them as Christ said of Iudas It had been good for them that they had neuer been borne Therefore I conclude blessed is the man that hath an eye to the end of his actions and of all things which he beholdeth here vnder the sunne and so dealeth that hee may finde and enioy thereby a good end of his life therfore when the holy Ghost to the Hebrewes commended the faith of some he willeth the reader to consider what hath bin the end of the conuersation of such And the Psalmist sendeth vs to the end of the godly Marke saith he the end of the righteous for the end of him is peace But for these that will be merrie otherwise howsoeuer they goe to worke their end will be in heauinesse according to the words of our Sauiour Woe be to you that now laugh fow ye shall howle and weepe Now that it is said here they had fortie yeeres peace after this subduing of the Midianites it was a great benefit that God bestowed vpon them and so all that enioy it or a great part of it shall see cause to say if they reade and consider the bondage and woe that men are in to enemies and strangers Therfore we should carefully looke what good may be done in such times of libertie and freedome from great disturbance especially that when wee haue generally peace in the land there be no priuate breaches with neighbours at home nor in familie but a quiet life with both and the peace of a good conscience to Godward chiefly and aboue all things procured Looke of this at large in chap. 5. and elsewhere Now that which followeth concerning Gedeon in this verse is this that it is said after this victorie Gedeon liued after a sort a priuate life to proue and make it manifest that he desired not as he had told them before the empire contrary to Gods ordinance So it is with some offices among vs annuall or temporarie If hee had in this priuacie liued idlely or wickedly as one that had done enough before and now waxt weary it would haue been set downe as other faults be That which wee haue to learne by this is that we so vse authoritie countenance preferment or any such libertie which is more then common that we remember it must be laid downe againe and haue an end and that also perhaps in this life and therefore that we swell not neither be puffed vp thereby neither forget what wee haue been for that and such like promotion or aduancement is but borrowed And nothing is more common then to see age abased and in little regard so that The minde as the saying is is all in all yea such as the minde is such is the man For else what should be the priuiledge of a godly man in respect of other both in life and at death Some may better haue thousands and vse them more soberly then some can hundreds He that makes his prosperitie his heauen cannot but thinke the contrarie to bee his miserie and vndoing But he that neuer ioyed too much in that he had neuer laid it too neere his heart when he lost or for-went it It is the speech of a foole to say It is most miserable to haue bin happie A wise man is neither so lifted vp with inioying that which he knoweth is vanishing and mutable as if it were happines nor so deiected in the forgoing it as if he had lost it and as if his hope were past The immoderate desire of the minde is like to him who hauing vsed his body to a plenteous and delicate fare being afterward compelled to streighter allowance pineth and by the alteration of a full fat comely and strong body into a thinne meager pale and decaied sheweth that the change of his diet hath made him vnlike himselfe Whereas the sober minded resembleth him who tieth himselfe to an ordinarie as most agreeable to health and soundnes and although hee come to an extraordinarie diet yet he is a law to himselfe he eateth no more of many then he did before of a few dishes So that as the one mendeth him not so the other appaireth him not Thus saith the Christian with the Apostle I haue learned to abound I haue learned also to want in diuers estates to be the same euen contented and thankfull A rare portion aboue al earthly treasure and such as he needed not be ashamed to confesse he had learnd for he was borne to no such priuiledge as he was to be a free citizen of Rome as he told Lysias but was taught it by the Spirit of God only Wee haue great need to note this for many by office place authoritie and superioritie in Ministery and Magistracy haue and doe daily forget themselues and especially if great wealth accompany the same yea sometime where there is no great matter in the persons to cause it And therefore when God shall blow vpon their estate and cast it downe and they be constrained to come to abasement and to their old condition againe wherein they once liued they scorne and cast it off and shift by vnlawfull meanes to wind themselues
out of it by running into debt with other men neuer meaning to pay as both appeareth in many Seruingmen and Souldiers that haue been of any place and other better borne then the common sort and many more who say with the Steward Digge I cannot and to begge I am ashamed and liue I must some way or other but they will neuer fall to worke or to the doing of any thing beseeming them for their maintenance but hunt after pleasure harlots dice cards robbing and cousening the simple and beguiling sillie maides or matrons to enrich themselues c. And againe this sheweth the follie of such great persons as trusting to their greatnesse and wealth as to a strong hold prouide as little for their owne changes as for the hardnesse which may befall their children but bring them vp in all softnesse and delicacie not so much as inuring them to any labour or exercizing their bodies or wits to industrie and action wherby it commeth to passe that if their estate decline they are left destitute and shiftlesse and vrged by an vnhappy necessitie of their owne procuring to vse indirect meanes for maintenance Another thing concerning Gedeon followeth and that is the setting downe of his many wiues which was his great blemish And it teacheth vs that as well the faults and blemishes of Gods seruants are set before vs in the Scriptures as their vertues in which respect the Scriptures are vnlike to other stories or writings of men carried partially through hatred or flattery to obscure the truth So are Dauids Sampsons and Peters and the faults and infirmities of sundry other approoued seruants of God which yet is not done by the holy Ghost that wee should seeke libertie to follow them for many sorrowes shall be to such but to teach that wee euen the best should suspect our selues being full of selfe-loue to hide and winck at our corruptions and bad qualities and therfore to keepe with all diligence our hearts which we are hardly brought to doe though they be out of measure deceitful neither can we abide to be reprooued and shamed for the same But seeing God hath for sundry causes and in diuers respects left the infirmities and blemishes of his seruants in scripture to be knowne of vs I will briefly note and set downe some of them hauing so good and fit occasion offered that so we may profit by them accordingly He hath done it partly for our benefit and partly to teach vs our dutie Our benefit thereby is twofold One that if at any time we should fall into some grieuous sinne and despaire of Gods mercy thereby yet that wee may stay and vphold our selues by the examples of Gedeon and other such who fearing God did yet fall dangerously and recouered themselues againe that we knowing that may in the like case receiue hope of pardon likewise if we call our selues home againe by repentance For in such cases when we are exhorted by Gods faithfull ministers not to cast away our confidence though we haue so offended wee are ready to obiect thus Oh there were neuer any of Gods children that fell so and offended as we haue done so that we may iustly feare there is no remission nor pardon for vs to be hoped for Therefore when wee shall heare of the infirmities of the godly the cleere knowledge of this much auaileth to stay vs from dispairing This is not therefore to imbolden vs by their example to sinne though we do yet stand by the grace of God free from reprochfull euils but to vphold vs if we haue alreadie fallen dangerouslâ—â— that wee faint not altogether I say it serueth for preuention of deadly â—eare after sinne not to cause presumption in sinning For if any will abuse this knowledge to licentiousnesse hoping for pardon as they heare that others haue obtained it when they had sinned in like manner as they themselues haue done let them know that God will meet with them as their boldnesse requireth with terrors within and shame without till they shal wish that they had bin better aduised And as they may iustly complaine that they sinned more wilfully and purposely then the Saints of God did to speake of many of them so they may feare that they shall not so easily find mercy and forgiuenesse as they found And this is one cause that concerneth vs much why the Lord hath left the faults of the godly manifested in Scripture as wel as their vertues Another is that wee hearing how some rare people in ages past haue falne we should be more suspicious of our selues and more wary that wee slip not into the common euils of the time wee liue in seeing wee are much weaker in faith and grace then they were and therefore are like more easily to forget our selues and to fall grieuously vnlesse we count it our happinesse and oft tell it to our selues to labour and endeuour by all meanes to perseuere in vprightnes vnto our end and therefore wee are like to find it as hard to recouer our selues againe And indeed the bitternesse which they tasted in their falles were enough to deterre vs from following them though we were sure to speed at length aswell as they But few looke at the bitter but at the sweet onely and so are deceiued Another cause why God hath made knowne the blemishes of the faithfull that liued in former times is to teach vs our duty towards our brethren that if we heare any of them to haue falne into any grieuous offence and afterward when it commeth to their remembrance that they take such a deep conceit for so displeasing God and lay it so neere their heart that they feare it cannot be forgiuen them I say when it thus falleth out we are taught by this our dutie and that is to incourage and helpe to vphold them in meeknesse and with our exhortings of them and perswasions to rise vp and returne againe to comfort them also when wee see them repent and to beare with their infirmities and not to condemne and forsake them good things being found in them remembring our selues who would be glad to be helped vp when we haue falne rather then to be shamed forsaken and left to our selues To this end is that of the Apostle Brethren if any be fallen by infirmity you that are spirituall that is indued with more grace and seasoned with more fruites of Gods spirit restore such an one that is doe your indeuour with meekenesse to raise him considering your selues The vse in generall of this whole discourse is to bee afraid to offend seeing wee bee so vnwilling to heare of any rebuke for the same and not to be bold to sinne by authoritie of the fathers seeing we are not willing to take part with them in their punishments but as shame and sorrow are vnwelcome to vs so let the sinnes be also that bring them For they quench faith weaken grace and loose
or other and so may I haue and what then But to this it is to be answered where one chiefe sinne is committed there are many other as handmaides to accompany it As in the sinne of Achan Dauid Ananias and Saphira with many others is to be seene Therefore if we thinke it be a shame for vs to be charged with many then take we heed of any one for it will not goe alone and if we thinke it a small matter to bee rebuked for one know we for certaintie that one will bring and draw many to it and he only is happy that wisely taketh heed of all But this doctrine I haue handled before therefore the lesse shall serue Looke backe into chap. 1. vers 7. Moreouer let the foolishnesse of these men of Shechem who beleeuing Abimelechs faire words went by and by and made him King let it I say teach vs wisdome For it is a singular good watch-word to all Christians that we doe not regard so much the speeches of vaine and loose persons as weigh and compare their actions one with another that we may profit by them and not be beguiled As the prouerb saith what should I hearken to words when I see deeds contrarie His were vile and horrible as they saw therefore they ought not to haue regarded his words For he that is faultie in a great matter is not to bee trusted in a small For example if as our text teacheth a man be vnpitifull to his owne as this Abimelech was he will certainly be without pitie and compassion to other howsoeuer for vaine glory he may shew pitie sometime and in some case but that will not hold neither is it to be rested vpon for one swallow maketh not summer So if one will contend and fall out with disclaime and deceiue his neere friend let not a stranger trust him For though such an one bee now in fauour with him yet they may twentie waies be easily estranged one from another as we see it commeth daily to passe So if a man liue not peaceablie and kindly with his wife hee may say what hee will of his agreeing with others but longer then while his corrupt and inconstant humor bee pleased he will liue kindly with none This Dauid aimed at and meant in his answer to them that brought tidings of their murthering of Saul and of Ishbosheth for what likelyhood gaue they of any more fidelitie to him if the time should haue serued So to prosecute this point in more particulars wherein the truth of it doth best appeare let vs not be deceiued but wise if we see that a man be not faithfull to God let vs not thinke that he will bee to vs. So if one helpe not his poore neighbour in his need there is small liberalitie or neighbourhood in him at any time If a man bestow not the Sabbath in godly exercises and religious duties it is sure he doth little that way on other daies and if he doe yet it is not of knowledge nor conscience whatsoeuer he doth without which it is nothing worth So if a man cannot be appeased in a small matter let him say what he will it is sure hee will much lesse bee in a great and yet men commonly say any thing but this I would doe for you or could yeeld vnto when yet a small matter is requested of them So to enlarge the argument from the greater and more likely to the lesser if thou canst not trust them whom thou hast long knowne faithfull though thou gettest many new friends thou shalt neuer be bold soundly to rest vpon them Also if a man will seeme repentant and leaue not an il outward qualitie he hath not certainly yet begun to search and purge his euil heart If the righteous find much adoe to be saued he is farre from it that taketh his libertie at his pleasure And who is little troubled about seeking assurance of his saluation If one day spent and taken vp in a godly life bee sweet what were many may the whole life if it were passed therein If we faint in afflictions and yeeld readily to temptations we may know by that our strength was neuer great Againe also as our Sauiour saith If ye be vnfaithfull in the smallest things who shall trust you with the greatest treasure And so to say somewhat of Gods dealing with vs if God haue helped vs in the hardest when we sought to him in feruentnes and truth he will by the same meanes helpe vs in smaller danger If he spare not his owne as he did not the Prophet who disobeyed him at Bethel much harder shall the state of the bad be as Ieroboams was who hard of the others punishment And if we be sure that he hath giuen vs his Christ the greatest of all gifts much more will he giue the smaller being sought with the like mind Thus we may take good by Abimelechs words and bee bold to say that hee set not more by the men of Shechem then by his brethren whatsoeuer he said Now one thing I will adde or repeate rather hauing handled it in this Chapter more at large I meane touching these men of Shechem who went and made Abimelech King for all the abomination that they saw hee had wrought who ought rather to haue pursued him to the fearefullest death as I haue said Out of whose practise wee may clearely see that there are none so vile and odious persons shewing openly their wickednesse to the world but they are applauded and approoued of some in their odious and bad practises and none are so godly but shamelesse beasts there are who openly wil defame them and speake maliciously of them yea if need be to their faces The reason is that they who commend and maintaine these vngodly ones are as vile and bad themselues as they as I prooued before out of the Apostles words And for further proofe of this which I say let that be considered of Iudas when hee had betraied his most kind and louing Master yet how was hee incouraged to it before and rewarded for it by thē that went then for masters in Israel euen for the chiefe pillers of the visible Church yea teachers and lights to others though the fact was afterward cried out of by the traitor himselfe saying I haue sinned in betraying the innocent blood And all experience aswell as Scripture prooueth the truth of this point which shewes how full of sinne and euill doings the times are And yet they who applaud such goe for honest citizens and townesmen till they bee bewrayed by the Lord and till their wickednesse breake foorth euen as the others doth Which rightly verifieth the prophecy of our Sauiour who foretold that in these latter daies the abundance of iniquitie should bee such that it should cause the loue of many to waxe cold So that I conclude that they are happy who are wise to turne away from
is against them that doe euill Hearken By this speech of Iotham note that as all instructions and warnings sent vs of God ought to be hearkened to so more particularly they who heare not the crie of the innocent being wronged shall crie themselues and not be heard Note it against the monstrous oppressors and hard dealers of our time who in letting and lending regard neither equitie the common benefit of both persons nor the case of the poore but wring from them what they can into their own hands and vse other as they list Iudgement shall be without mercie to such as are so mercilesse Consider what a plunge Iosephs brethren were brought vnto two or three times for the crueltie they had shewed to him most vnnaturally when they sold him thither from whence they hoped he should neuer returne to trouble them any more God and man shall leaue such in their most miserable distresse as in the destruction of Ierusalem and in the death of Saul and Iudas we may see but the mercifull shall finde mercie This iudgement of God in measuring out such measure to the mercilesse as they haue met out to other I haue oft obserued to be paid to them who haue been cruell as to the bodies so to the soules of men who for their own pleasure depriuing many that were hungrie of the food of life haue for all their bodily abundance dyed miserably in darknes without any comfort or instruction But alas who beleeueth our report till he see it verified But men laugh and sport themselues in that they haue scraped together wee haue it in out coffers say they and about vs and as for God tush we hope he will do neither good nor euil we hope neuer to be put to any such plunge as you speak of others indeed haue found the truth of this by wofull experience but as for vs we hope to morrow shall be as to day we feare it not But oh wretch what if the Lord in mercie cull out some one of many to be a wonder and example to the rest sparing others the whilest doest thou so abuse this his patience to thy condemnation What if thou be that odde person whom God will set vpon the stage might not Adonibezek haue said as thou But put case thou escape this plague from men is there not a God who can bee cruell with the cruell as well as froward with the froward as the Psalmist speaketh that is match them to the full Wilt thou vrge him to deale with thee as once he did with an engrosser and griper arming mice and rats to oppresse him by sea and land till they had eaten the flesh from the bones without pitie as hee had done many mens before If thou saiest this is rare and not like to befall thee Well yet there is one way behinde which shall surely meete with thee and if thou canst shunne that then say the Scriptures are fables and that is when thou art in hell thou shalt crie out as Diues did for woe and paine desiring reliefe But it shall be answered to thee as to him No remember the time was when thou feltest not the miserie of the oppressed Now thou criest out in thine anguish and none heareth thee But by diuers occasions this is spoken of and handled in this booke To conclude therefore with a word or two touching another kinde of oppression I haue obserued this that some Protestants haue dealt hardly with and vncharitably defamed others euen men of the same religion and which aggrauateth their sinne such as they knew durst not giue them the measure backe againe which they offered them Now these men afterward falling into the hands of Papists men of another disposition cruell like lyons and stinging as scorpions haue been so vnpleasingly and despitefully handled by the slanderous railings of their Iesuites and Rabshakees who haue vexed euery veine of their hearts that they would haue bought off the blemishes and scarres with a price if they could which the pennes and tongues of their enemies haue defiled thē with sparing neither age person gifts or place And al to teach thē to deale gently with the innocent lambe if they would auoide the tongues and teeth of woluish aduersaries lyons Now to come to the parable By the trees seeking a king was meant as I said the Shechemites slipperines and inconstancie who could not be content with Gods gouernment gouerning them as he had done by many and raising them vp a Iudge in their trouble by other nations to deliuer them but they would yeeld to be gouerned by one and haue king euen as sometime after the whole nation of the Iewes did follow them in 1. Samuel 8. contrary to that which God had appointed Which practise of theirs teacheth vs that we soone grow wearie of Gods yoke and of his ordinances by obeying the which yet wee might doe well if wee could see and loth wee are that God should raigne ouer vs. Indeed we say and in words seeme to pray otherwise as in the second and third petition Thy kingdom come Thy will be done but who admitteth it And no marueile For flesh is vnruly and in the most there is no worke of the spirit and the operation of it is weake in the best of vs especially as we goe to worke By meanes whereof we see how ill it goeth with the most at this day For they hauing no more then nature in them seeke libertie to liue as they list and to follow their owne way From whence arise so many troubles and garboiles to them in their liues when yet Gods yoke is the only easie yoke and vnder the wing of his protection only is peace safetie Oh one day in his house to be nurtured by him euen in this life is better then a thousand in any estate of pleasure whatsoeuer and yet wee haue libertie to enioy much euen that way also Looke more hereof in chap. 8. in Gedeons answere to the people offering him the kingdome The other sonnes of Gedeon are compared with Abimelech as the good trees are with the bramble And yet they who were more excellent then he would not raigne much lesse should Abimelech who was farre lesse worthie and yet he did By the trees here and Gedeons other sonnes who would not raigne though they mought nor the trees as the vine oliue and figge tree that would not leaue their state for an higher nor their sweetnes for any other all of vs are taught to keepe compasse and to frame ourselues willingly to abide in the estate wherein God hath set vs as indeed the only and best estate for vs and not to breake out of our range and compasse to affect that which is not for vs. And as gifts are required thereto and calling so we should attend thereupon and imploy our time on that for which we are fitted yea and looke to find
may befall vs in time if wee dare deale loosely and vnfaithfully with the Lord and suffer our selues to beled away from our stedfastnes This boldnes and carelesnesse if it thus be suffered to beare sway in vs may cause this scripture in time to be said of and verified in vs that we haue forsaken the Lord our strength And yet because men are cunning to deceiue themselues hoping that as long as they embrace not another religion they shall not become such nor iudged so hardly of though they take vp their delight in sins that please thē I thought it not therefore amisse to giue this caueat that in vaine doe such men worship God though they draw neere to him with their bodies while they suffer their hearts to goe another way and it is a kinde of forsaking of God though not in so high a degree as the other and as in time they themselues are like to come vnto and their labour is lost that they bestow in seruing God while it is accompanied with such anoiance and vnsauourines he vtterly abhorreth it This phrase of forsaking God is taken from wedlocke when either partie renounceth interest and fellowship in the other and departeth away euen as the phrase of selling them away vsed in the next verse on Gods part importeth the like action in the Lord as iustly giuing ouer his part in them As they had resigned their right in him their husband who had married himselfe vnto them vnto strange Idols so the Lord put ouer his interest in them vnto strange Idolaters alienating himselfe from them as the commoditie which is sold changeth the owner and becomes the right of another man Now then let not men thinke they may at their pleasure breake their couenant as the knot of marriage with God thinking they may returne to him as they list and when they list as Sampson to his companion and the Leuite to his concubine for neither will it be so easie for them to doe it neither shall they finde God so ready in their hastie seekings after him vpon each occasion to admit them And this is said of the peoples sinne and by occasion thereof Now we haue heard of that being the first point of the foure in these three next verses is set down Gods displeasure conceiued against them for it For when they had thus prouoked him by their sore transgressions he prouoked them also by that which did little like them for hee stirred vp the Philistims and Ammonites against them who vexed them sore for many yeeres And this they did not onely in the land of the Ammorites beyond Iorden to the children of Israel that dwelt there but they waxed more bold and passed ouer Iorden made warre with the tribe of Iuda Beniamin and Ephraim so as they were not able to resist them And what should wee say to all this It must needs be granted that this was an heauy bondage that they were vnder But what remedie If it had been any lesse it would not haue moued nor wrought vpon them They would not complaine nor crie to God for a little For if they had they should haue been heard and kept from so great extremities that they should not haue vexed them So that to say no more of this we may all see here that when wee come vnder sore afflictions which in a manner take heart from vs and make our liues wearisome we may thanke our selues for it God vseth not to cast his punishments vpon men all at once but by peece meale and by degrees and giueth warning of them for the most part at least by his word alwaies that so as wise men seeing the plague comming they may preuent them or else he laieth his hand more lightly vpon them that they may at the first repaire to him and intreate him to stay it If it be otherwise that he suddenly and at once take away the righteous with the wicked they shall haue no cause to complaine of that for they shall rest in peace If God remoue not his punishments yet if they be reconciled to him and liue obediently hee will giue them greater grace of faith hope and patience to beare the burthen more easily and with farre greater contentment All the danger is if they harden their hearts and bow not meekely to God vnder their burthens that is more against them then all their outward calamitie and bondage Wee haue heard how God punished the people for their committing idolatrie and suffered their enemies to oppresse them sore and a long-time But this was not al which is here expressed though that was very grieuous as all may well see But with this it is to be noted how they also by their sin turned the Sun-shine of Gods fauour into most darke and vncomfortable displeasure This men purchase to themselues by their wilfulnesse and rebellion when they might otherwise go out and in before him to their good liking and dwell most safely vnder the wing of his protection all the day long What madnesse is it to cast themselues into deadly feares and vnquietnesse and anguish of soule for the Lords displeasure as sharpe arrowes sticking fast in them with reproch discountenance of Gods seruants and many other crossings and discontentments But of Gods anger and wrath reade more in Chap. 2. 14. Here I end THE SIXTIETH TWO SERMON ON THE TENTH CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES WE heard in the former verses how God afflicted this people for their sinne in this verse the holy story setteth down how this oppression by the enemies reached to the people beyond Iorden as well as them that were on this side onely Wherein that thereat was verified whereof before hath been spoken that they and their idols should be as snares vnto them euen to their destruction But besides this we see that this miserie did spred further in time then to those that were on this side Iorden for it reached euen to the Israelites also which dwelt beyond Iorden So that although the enemies began with them first who dwelt in the land of the Amorites yet seeing the people on both sides of Iorden had communicated with the nations in their sinne they were therfore both plagued alike by the enemies And so it fareth with vs for if many ioyne together in prouoking God they shall smart together by bearing his corrections And though the Lord begin as I said before of Shechem and Abimelech with some at the first apart yet he will as the fire burneth one house after another he wil I say deuour the rest with the former at length as by the plague we haue heard he hath done Now in that it is said in this verse that they cried to the Lord saying we haue sinned I haue spoken of this before as also of this that they were long in miserie ere they complained therfore I wil not repeate those two points onely this here is to be noted that they did
that the best is to iudge our selues that we be not iudged of the Lord. But by this that the Lord so hardly vrging this people they fell to a more serious searching into themselues and so came to better state wee may see that as hardly as Gods people are brought to confesse and renounce their sinnes hauing fallen as at sometimes they haue done yet when they see and feele the hand of God against them and no release nor issue of their trouble is seene by them many are drawne thereby to sorrow and repentance But when they haue not felt Gods anger kindled against them for their sinnes first they can hardly for the most part abide to be told of them nor to heare of his iudgements for them but shake them off if they can possibly But if God doe purpose to bring such home he wil so worke in them that he will make them feele both his threats and his displeasure so fierce and smarty that rather then they will still liue vnder the feare thereof they will run through fire and water to escape both though no other bodily affliction be vpon them Thus many haue been brought home when the Lord hath tamed and subdued them by afflictions especially inward for if they rebel not through pride but stoope vnder their burden there is good hope of them euen as the high minded who doe kicke against the pricke and are refractarie and wilfull doe surely come to euill Now therefore seeing we may find that mercy from God by our afflictions which we neuer felt before in our prosperitie why should wee storme at the comming of them but rather looke for some good by them as the Apostle Iames wisheth vs to doe when he telleth vs that it is matter of greatest ioy when we fall into many of them And lastly in this matter in that they returned to serue the Lord know we that this is the end of all our repentance to serue God with chearefulnes throughout our life euen as it is a chiefe end of our liuing here for that to doe is indeed to bring foorth fruit or amendment of life and when that worke faileth in vs I meane that the waies of godlinesse are not pleasant vnto vs let vs know it is not wel with vs but that the diuell hath much preuailed against vs. Now in the next place in these two verses let vs lay together the signes of the peoples repentance which are these fiue The first their confession the second the submitting of themselues to the will of God the third the putting away of their Idols the fourth their returne to a godly life the fifth their confidence in God taking no nay neither making any doubt of his holpâ— And for our instruction these things are here mentioned in this maner that though they be not all vsually in Scripture expressely set downe in the repentance of men together yet other are in sundry places as in Ieremie Hosea c. and these also may be found in such as were penitents if wee will examine the stories of such and search them out In Hosea they may bee all found though not all named in Dauid also in Zacheus likewise And so by them all ioyntly laid together let vs whensoeuer we list looke to approoue our repentance to be sound and good but seuer wee them not in any wise one from the other For to confesse alone without the rest may bee an vncertaine testimony as is to be seene in Sauls confession and yet in some it is sufficient yea sure and good as in Dauids when he vttered this bare confession to Nathan I haue sinned But to leaue euill and doe good with a resting on Gods promise and a submitting of ourselues to his holy will I say all these together with confessions are signes of repentance infallable euen as on the contrarie a failing in some of these may easily breed question about the sufficiencie of true repentance where the Scripture doth not otherwise commend it And in that the holy story thus setteth it forth that when the people thus repented the soule of the Lord was grieued for their misery euen as he was angrie with them before for their reuolting it doth admirably commend Gods mercy as it is oft set downe in the Scripture which is not spoken as though God were mooued with affections but those things which are noted to be in men are ascribed to God and so it is spoken after the manner of men euen as they are first grieued for the misery of those whom they pitie so God is said to be grieued for them receiuing them to mercy So that we may truly say that God exceedeth in mercy towards poore sinners that haue sore prouoked him when they vnfainedly turne to him And as this is true of his affection to them so is it also of the fruites of his fauour as elsewhere I haue noted at large And to this end is that oft repeated saying in Exodus I the Lord am gratious slow to wrath ready to forgiue and repenting for the euill that I brought vpon them And as the Lord was wholly theirs now they repented notwithstanding all their former abominations which blotted out and darkned in them all sound comfort and so is to all other in their case euen so doth he change the estate of wofull people by that reconciling them to himselfe no otherwise then as the foullest and most tempestuous day is vnto the most comfortable weather and constant Sun-shine And they need not know what these changes meane but walke in Gods fauour continually as they doe who continually delight in his law and in his feare But of these points from the fifteenth verse hitherto I speak briefely because I haue handled them vpon the like occasions before in the second and fourth Chapters of this booke THE SIXTIE THREE SERMON ON THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CHAPTERS OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES The third part of the Chapter Verse 17. Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and incamped in Gilead and the children of Israel assembled themselues together and incamped in Mizpeh 18. And the people and Princes of Gilead said one to the other What man is bee that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon he shall be head ouer all the inhabitants of Gilead I In these two verses being the last of this Chapter to passe from the repentance of the people of Israel which I haue spoke of it followeth now as we may see the Ammonites were not satisfied with vexing the people of God as they had long done but now they went about to put them to the sword and to take their cities and lands from them for their owne But marke we this the Lord so dealt with his people and prouided so well for them that they their enemies could neuer goe about it in better time in respect of the Israelites For now they had turned to God by
zeale which they pretend they neede not by breaking oath nay prison prouide for themselues as sundrie of them haue done to testifie what a good cause they haue to maintaine who betray it so grossely And this further condemneth that common vnfaithfulnesse and falsehood which also I haue noted before but cannot too much complaine of at this day practised to the vtter vndoing of many thousands by breaking both promise and bond and running away with mens goods or playing the banckroupts and all to defeate them Now in that it is said he did to her according to his vow it is a sufficient proofe that he vowed her not to virginitie I haue in the verses before shewed how these words are to be vnderstood to wit that he sacrificed her as his vow was to doe to that which should first meet him and did not tie her to liue a virgine and therefore I say no more of it lest I should make a needles repetition and if I dissent herein from any they are those who confessed it was but their opinion in that they thought otherwise then I doe and I haue shewed my reasons of this my assertion Now though hee did so performe his vow vpon his daughter of meere conscience for he thought that he ought to keepe and performe that vow which hee had solemnely made though it fell out vpon his owne daughter yet this that he did consult with none in all that time about it which is admirable that he did not doth admonish all in doubtfull and dangerous cases to aske counsell and seeke resolution But withall let them take this to seeke where they ought namely in the Scriptures or at the mouth of the godly and learned to be resolued by the Scriptures See before verse 30. It is said further that it was kept as a custome of the daughters of Israel that they went to bewaile the daughter of Iphtah foure times in the yeere Some translate the Hebrew word to talke with and to comfort other to bewaile the word yeeldeth both significations But whether of the two is to be vnderstood in this place is easie to see for the vow of Iphtah being taken in this meaning that he ment thereby to offer her in sacrifice it followeth of necessitie that these maides bewailed her when they met and did not talke with her shee being dead For although the Hebrew word in deed signifieth both to common with and to bewaile yet I haue shewed that the latter sense here is to be imbraced Now in that they held this as a custome to lament her that she was sacrificed it appeares they sought this thereby that it should not bee forgotten and besides that it is like enough they did it that all parents might be warned to make no such vowes This custome while it was not abused nor brought to any superstitious vse was the lesse to be misliked whereas otherwise it had been fit to breake it off accordingly should customes be thought of and dealt with For as they agree with Gods law and with charitie they are to be obserued and kept but otherwise as they be superstitious and prophane to hinder or put by Gods worship or when there is danger that they will grow to such abuse they are to be broken Also when they tend to the maintaining of needlesse charge and expences the hurt and hindring of any or bee otherwise vnlawfull as there are many such at this day maintained and keept they are to be abolished And therefore the blind and wicked practise of spending the twelue daies at the Natiuitie in play reuell and disorder also the leaud customes still retained in some parts of this land to keepe their prophane customary feasts and drinkings on the Sabbath with al other misrule of like sort are vtterly to bee rooted out and better plants set in their roomes if it may be of which I say no more hauing before more fully discoursed thereof THE SIXTIETH NINE SERMON ON THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES Verse 1. And the men of Ephraim gathered themselues together and went Northward and said vnto Iphtah Wherefore wentest thou to fight against the children of Ammon and didst not call vs to goe with thee we will therefore burne thine house vpon thee with fire 2. And Iphtah said vnto them I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon and when I called you ye deliuered me not out of their hands 3. So when I saw that yee deliuered me not I put my life in mine hands and went vpon the children of Ammon so the Lord deliuered them into mine hands Wherefore then are yee come vpon me now to fight against me 4. Then Iphtah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim because they said Ye Gileadites are runnagates of Ephraim among the Ephramites and among the Manassites 5. Also the Gileadites tooke the passages of Iorden before the Ephramites and when the Ephramites that were escaped said Let me passe Then the men of Gilead said vnto him Art thou an Ephramite If he answered Nay 6. Then they said vnto him Say now Shibboleth and he said Sibboleth for he could not so pronounce then they tooke him and slew him at the passages of Iorden and there fell at that time of the Ephramites two and fortie thousand THe summe of this Chapter consisting of two parts is this first the sedition of the Ephramites but to their owne cost For they quarreling with Iphtah for a light or rather no cause and comming to make warre with him many of them were slaine by him and others of them in flying were in the like manner put to the sword and this to verse 7. this is the summe of the first part The second declareth and setteth downe the time of the gouernment of Iphtah and of the three other Iudges who succeeded one another and of their death and buriall to wit Iphtahs and the other who were these Ibzan Elon and Abdon and this to the end of the Chapter The first part of the Chapter IN this former part these two things are contained First the bitter contending of the Ephramites with Iphtah threatning to burne him and his house with fire and Iphtahs answere and defence to verse 4. The second thing is how Iphtah killeth diuers of them in the skirmish and fight and others of them in their flying away to verse 7. The sinnes of these Ephramites which they shew here in one action are many of the which it shall not be amisse to take a view as the text offereth occasion in the most whereof I will bee the briefer because I haue handled them already vpon the like fact Chap. 8. 1. The first is sedition in rising against their lawfull gouernour Iphtah and this came of pride whereby they attributed so much vnto themselues aboue other Then their vnthankfulnesse to him who had farre indangered himselfe to the
rest And now the Lord had omitted to punish them and had giuen them peace they fell againe to their old byas This teacheth how naturall it is for all flesh to decline and to fall to those sinnes which once they abhorred Our latter works should be better then our former but how rare is this to be seene no not in the better sort no vnlesse it be in them who do obserue their own frailtie how many waies they are ready to fall and lay daily for especiall grace of faith and good gouernment knowledge without fainting and wearines as at any time they haue done since they first began else I say it is hardly to be found And no lesse had need to be done of them because both old and new prouocations to euill are so many and strong and euer in the way that they will otherwise preuaile one time or other And therefore men should know and consider that they waite for a reward of great price and no man is crowned except hee striue for it lawfully and to the end therefore they should not be weary of weldoing neither faint in their good beginnings But oh to bee lamented many of the forwarder sort in times past are now growne to tempt God boldly and take vpon them to stint him in their prayers and other seruice and detract from it and coldly goe about it much like them who are driuen to worke dead worke with their creditors and are constrained rather to pay them therby the debt that they owe them then that they haue any wages to receiue for the same which kinde of worke all know how vnwillingly and wearisomly for the most part it is taken in hand And to speake a word of those who are not ingrafted into Christ at all by faith and to shew how awkly they come forward in the sincere receiuing the doctrine of the Gospell though wee know and so may they that the Lord beareth long with them to the end he may bring them to repentance yet how many of them may we obserue who though they liue vnder good teaching doe not verifie the Apostles words to Timothy of the wicked vngodly viz. that both for knowledge they are euer learning but neuer obtaining it and as for their practise they waxe worse and worse rather then that they haue so much as any purpose to set their hearts to seeke after true repentance For the fuller handling hereof let the reader looke backe into the former Chapters wherein the other reuolts of this people are mentioned In that it is said God gaue them when they had thus prouoked him into the hands of the Philistims as he vsed when they fell to the like sinnes to sell them to other nations about them and they and their fathers had so often found it so that they might haue knowne if they would that they should finde some such like thing againe as oft as they reuolted from him The Lords thus dealing with them I say not onely laieth foorth their boldnes in sinning which I haue spoken of but it certainly testifieth also what God will doe to them and to all others in such a case to wit that hee will surely be auenged of such his enemies who dare so boldly tempt him yea one time or other he will most certainly doe it And so let vs and especially such as take aduantage by deferring of Gods executing his iudgement to settle themselues the more to doe euill let vs tell to our owne hearts and that not doubtingly as the woman answered of the punishment to the Serpent which God had certainly annexed to the eating the forbidden fruite but assuredly And this let euery one that is wise apply to himselfe as a most vndoubted truth vpon the committing of those sinnes to the which hee is most in danger or else hee must looke to smart afterward But of this point and the next in this verse namely that he did so long continue the people in bondage to the Philistims because of their sinnes I haue spoken in another place The Lord purposing to raise vp one that should helpe his people doth first appoint his parents and them he mentioneth and describeth in this second verse and sheweth in the third how he sent word to the woman by his Angell that she should beare such a childe as should helpe to auenge their enemies in the fourth hee directeth her how to vse her selfe who should beare that childe and that she should not eate or drinke any forbidden or vncleane thing in the fifth he shewes a reason hereof to wit because the childe should bee no common person but a professed Nazarite And therewith he declareth what he should doe that is begin to saue Israel out of the hands of the Philistims Touching the first of these points of describing the parents of Samson I would say the more but that I see the holy Ghost omitteth and passeth by the commendation of their godlinesse here which yet by that which followeth appeareth to haue bin great But yet I will borrow somewhat from other places in this chapter to this purpose We may obserue in Scripture that vpon the like occasion sometimes a very liberall roome and commendation is allowed to the parents of worthie instruments One for all may serue of the parents of Iohn Baptist Luk. 1. 6. not so much described by circumstance of place and outward condition as by their grace and godlines This is here omitted and yet so as by the sequell of the historie in this chapter it may appeare they were a worthie couple and the holy Ghost as it were leauing it to the discretion of the reader to make vp their description by the good fruites and effects which are after recorded of them both as God willing shall be noted out of the text I doe here make mention of it as being to good purpose in the first mentioning of them Briefly then let vs note from this practise of the spirit of God how much it auaileth to the due setting out of a good posteritie to see from what manner of parents they are descended the godly progenitors being the crowne of a good progenie especially if the vnworthinesse and vnsutablenes of the yonger depriue them not of that honour which their elders haue purchased for them The godly parents are the roote whence the children euen by promise and couenant Exod. 20. are to deriue blessing vpon themselues if they bee faithfull Hence is it that all beleeuers are honoured with the spirituall priuiledge of being the sonnes of faithfull Abraham a greater by farre then to bee his degenerate children by carnall propagation Iohn 4. Secondly this insinuateth to Parents the dutie of care and gouernement seeing when the children are named as in the booke of Kings commonly there the parents are set in the forefront to beare the blame or to carrie away the honour if their children deserue well they may claime the praise of
much afraid to goe on in their cruell course against them as wee see the Priests by the counsell of Gamaliel thought good and saw cause to be ruled by him in letting the Apostles goe who had before intended most cruelly against them what was it that hindred them from their purpose but this that they feared that the Lord would haue resisted them who indeed so terrified them that hee constrained them to let them alone Thus as well as by the death of some that are maliciously minded against the faithfull other of their companie are so astonished and appalled that they desist from their wicked attempts and are in such feare that for the time they cannot tell what they may doe Thus to conclude God easeth the shoulders of his seruants many waies as wee see of the burthens that oppressed them and many other waies that cannot be expressed and not in the least manner by taking their oppressors away in the middest of their florishing and crueltie that wee may see he knoweth how to deliuer his and sheweth accordingly in due season that he doth not forget them and all to this end that they may not faint from their good beginnings nor be discouraged in any good course but hold it alwaies best to depend vpō him as Israel by Pharaos drowning and Shushan and the Prouinces by Hamans abasement with the like found it And though in some hot and fierie trials this be hard for the faithfull to go vnder yet after they haue borne the brunt they would not for any good haue done otherwise But of the sundrie waies whereby God vseth to succour his and ioynt their enemies I haue in another place discoursed at large Therefore thus much be said of this point and of the whole history of Samson THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER Vers 1. And there was a man of mount Ephraim whose name was Micah 2. And he said vnto his mother The eleuen hundred shekels of siluer that were taken from thee about which thou cursedst and spakest of also in mine eares Behold the siluer is with me I tooke it And his mother said Blessed bee thou of the Lord my sonne 3. And when he had restored the eleuen hundred shekels of siluer to his mother his mother said I haue wholly dedicated the siluer vnto the Lord from my hand for my sonne to make a grauen Image and a molten Image now therefore I will restore it vnto thee 4. Yet herestored the money vnto his mother and his mother tooke two hundred shekels of siluer and gaue it to the founder who made thereof a grauen Image and a molten Image and they were in the house of Micah 5. And the man Micah had an house of gods and made an Ephod and Teraphim and consecrated one of his sonnes who became his Priest 6. In those daies there was no King in Israel but euery man did that which was right in his owne eyes IN this Chapter before I enter into the handling of it as I vse to do in the other I must stay a while and say somthing for the satisfying of the reader and that not onely about this Chapter but also all the other that follow to the end of the booke That which I meane is this Whereas it may be by the ignorant thought that the things mentioned in these fiue Chapters following were done in order of time after those things which goe before I finde by conference of Scriptures that they were not neither can it be that they should But it appeareth that the acts set downe in them were done long before And because it may seeme strange which I say I neither will nor dare affirme it barely because any other man saith so but I will shew my reasons out of the Scripture I affirme therfore that the things that are said to haue been done in these Chapters following were done before the times of any of the Iudges or at the least at the end and after the death of Othniel mentioned in the first Chapter or in that vacation of those eighteene yeeres vnder Eglon while there was no Iudge in Israel And they may not inconueniently bee reckoned to the second Chapter and the eleuenth verse and those that follow it which doe mention the horrible wickednesse of the people of Israel after Ioshua was dead and the chiefe rulers who ouerliued him My reasons that these things were done before the times of the Iudges or thereabout are these The first is that it is said in the next Chapter that the Tribe of Dan being a populous tribe did inlarge their borders at that time which if it should be vnderstood to follow the storie of Samson in the former Chapter a reckoning being duly made must be full three hundred yeeres from the diuision of the land Against the which therefore as nothing like to be so that in the 19. of Ioshua is opposed where it is said as here it is that the border of the children of Dan was at that time lesse then sufficed therefore the children of Dan went vp and fought against Laish euen then and taking it smote it with the edge of the sword and enioyed it for their inheritance and dwelt in it So that if they of Dan then tooke it it followeth that the story in the next Chapter where they are said then to haue taken it is to bee referred to that time mentioned in Ioshua 19. which was three hundred yeeres before and not to the time following immediatly after Samson according to the order of the Chapter as it is set And this is my first reason why these fiue Chapters follow not the order of time as they be placed Another reason why these Chapters cannot bee vnderstood to bee set downe according to the order wherein they stand and the time in which they are thought to haue been done to wit immediately after Samson but are to bee referred to the former times that were three hundred yeeres before another reason for it I say is this that Ionathan the Leuite mentioned in these two Chapters is said to haue been the nephew of Manasseh the son of Moses and the sonne of Gershom nephew to Moses who were dead well nigh three hundred yeeres before the death of Samson and therefore vnlike or rather impossible that he should liue after Samson Thirdly whereas the acts of these fiue Chapters followed one another at the same time it is manifest that at the war of the Beniamites chapter 20. Phineas the sonne of Eliazar the sonne of Aaron ministred before the Lord at that time and asked counsell of him if they should go against Beniamin to warre And the same Phineas aboue three hundred yeeres before the death of Samson appeased the wrath of God by thrusting through Zimri and Cosby in their tent while the people of Israel were on the other side Iordan and were not as yet come into the land of Canaan Therefore the acts mentioned